Turning Tables
by AndThenYou
Summary: Damon was a geek who had been in love with Elena since forever in highschool. She played him and broke his heart - Now that he's back in Mystic Falls fully changed after all these years, is she the one who's going to find herself falling hard for him?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Oyoy guys, lol! :) Here I am with another story. Truth be told the idea had me for a while now, but since there are plenty of stories of Geek!Elena falling for hot-badass Damon I thought a change could be refreshing. LOL. Actually we won't see a lot of that - but still the flashbakcs point to that. Think about Damon in the flashbacks as Human!Damon. A little, at least. I always thought that when he was human Damon tended to be incredibly naive and too dumb, haha, poor thing. In present day he's obviously like our typical snarky Damon. ;)**

**I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think. Reviews are always very appreciated and they inspire me to continue. :)**

**If you're reading my other story "Luckily You Exist" don't worry, I will still continue it and update it as much as I can! **

**Thank you for reading (if you do, that is XD) and please let me know your thoughts! xoxo**

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><p><em>Mystic Falls, 2006:<em>

Elena Gilbert is flawless, Damon thought as he watched the girl of his dreams walking through the hallway in her pretty cheerleader uniform.

Her long chestnut hair was always perfectly straight, cascading down her back gloriously. Her body was one of a goddess and her smile would make any guy turn around. Her addicting laugh infected him, as he started smiling unconsciously.

He'd been in love with her since forever. She filled his dreams and his thoughts about the future. She was one year younger than him, this year he would graduate, but it didn't matter. Damon believed that she was the one for him.

Elena and her friends Caroline and Bonnie were the most popular girls at school. Everyone would talk about them and everyone wanted to be their friends. She was even the captain of the Cheerleaders team. She was smart, beautiful, and popular. She had it all.

At the age of almost 18, he was head over heels for this girl, and he wanted to ask her out. He wanted her to be his prom date.

Little did he know how naive he was being. While Elena was the most beautiful and popular girl at school, Damon was nothing but a shy geek.

He was short and thin, his glasses too showy and his dental braces unattractive.

Elena looked at his direction and started waving, a wide smile on her face. He felt tingles in his body and smiled back, waving a little.

When he saw her friend Caroline looking at him in disgust he turned around and saw that she was waving at her boyfriend, Matt Donovan.

His smile dropped and he felt defeated when she saw him running into Matt's arms and giggling at what he was saying.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, seeing his brother Stefan giving him a pointed look. Stefan was also younger of one year.

"Damon, how many times I told you that you don't have a shot with that girl? It's Elena Gilbert, dude." He said as he ate his sandwich.

"And how many times I told you that one sandwich is enough? You're too chubby Stef." He said.

His brother suddenly started laughing and he looked at him questioningly.

"What?"

"No…nothing. It's just that you talk in a funny way with that braces on." Stefan said shaking his head.

He had installed his dental braces just two days ago and he was still getting used to it.

"Shut up." He said elbowing him.

"I have to go. My class starts in five minutes. See you later to go home, bro." Stefan said as he ran past the hallway.

As he watched his brother, Damon shook his head, thinking that Stefan definitely needed to lose weight. He was in overweight and their mother could also be blamed for that.

Maria loved to feed them plently and while he had never been a glutter, Stefan definitely was.

He then saw Elena standing near the lockers alone, and in that moment he found the courage to go talking to her.

He took a deep breath and started walking towards her, feeling always more nervous. She was humming quietly and he found himself losing in the soft sound. He took another deep breath and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"El-Elena?" He said shyly.

She took her earphones for music off and looked at him strangely.

"Yeah?" She asked as she checked him out in an almost appalled way.

"I…uhm…I wanted to ask you something." He said looking down, fixing his glasses.

She crossed her arms and looked at him with an amused expression.

"Would you, ehm, want to be my-my date for the…the p-prom?" He finally managed to ask, smiling at her naively.

She bit her lip and he could see that she was keeping herself from laughing. His hopes immediatly dashed until she said something.

"Mmm...why don't we talk about it outside? Meet me behind the school in five minutes, where the football field is." She said as she winked mischeviously.

His heart started beating like a drum and he felt something that he couldn't quite explain in his underwear.

He saw her walking fiercely through the hallways until she reached Caroline and Bonnie, who were now laughing furiously at something that she said.

He quickly went to the restroom, wetting his face and calming down. He had just spoken with Elena Gilbert, and she had talked to him back. She winked at him and told him to meet her outside. Was this real life? Maybe she felt the same way. Maybe she liked him too, but she wasn't ready to admit it until now. In four years that he knew her and that he'd been in love with her, they had barely spoken. He could count on the tips of his fingers those rare times when they had ever interacted.

He stepped out of the bathroom and almost ran outside, smiling a wide smile when he saw her sitting on one of the benches. She smiled when she saw him and waved at him to join her.

"Hi Elena." He said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Hi Devon." She said with a smile.

"It's-it's Damon." He said nodding.

He sat next to her and saw her taking a little bit of distance. He decided not to care, since she was already so close to him. She was _breathtaking_.

"So…" She said with a sigh.

"S-so." He said rubbing his head lightly. "Do-do you want to come with m-me at the p-p-prom?" He managed to say.

"Let's see..." She said, pretending to think about it.

She then started laughing furiously as she looked past him. He didn't make it to turn around when he felt something cold and liquid falling on his head, filling his whole clothes.

Elena was still sitting on the bench twisting into laughter with tears in her eyes. In that moment he understood that she'd played him all along.

Suddenly in front of him there were Caroline and Bonnie, laughing smugly too.

"Hello there, Salvatroll." Caroline said in a mocking tone.

"Wh-wh-why did you d-do this?" He asked as he wiped his blurry eyes.

"Because you're lame." Elena suddenly said, a pleased and mean smile on her face. "Seriously, do you think I'm that dumb? I see the way you look at me Salvatore. It's annoying the hell out of me. Get a life."

She stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I-I thought th-that…you liked me, t-too." He said looking down, his voice almost a whisper.

She snorted as her friends started laughing like hyenas.

"Are you fucking kidding me? _Me_, liking someone like _you_? Have you ever looked into the mirror? Your body is almost as short as mine, your glasses are pathetic, and your braces is horrendous. Not to mention your annoying stuttering." She said rolling her eyes.

She got near him, lowering a little so she could look right into his eyes.

"I would never like someone as pathetic as you." She said spelling every world firmly.

She then smirked devishly and took his glasses making them fall on the ground.

"Oops." She gasped, walking on them on purpose.

She then took the gum that she was chewing from her mouth and sticked it right against his forehead.

"That's all you'll ever get from me, Salvatroll. So stop stalking me, you creep nerd." She said pointing her finger at him and walking away.

Bonnie and Caroline were still laughing furiously as they turned around to mock him.

When he was completely alone, he allowed himself to let the tears that were threateting to escape ever since he found out how big time Elena played him, streaming down his face. He couldn't see a thing as his eyes were blurried with tears and he didn't even have his glasses on anymore.

He'd never, in his whole useless life, felt so humiliated. It was like someone had stabbed him repeatedly in the heart, which now felt like it had been broken into million little pieces.

He started sobbing as he took his face in his hands, suddenly feeling hatred and anger for Elena. The girl who he had stupidly been devoted to all these years. He had finally seen her true colors; she was nothing but an evil spoiled mean girl.

He cursed himself for having been so stupid all these years, for having been so naive. He should have known better.

He smelled like lemon and he realized that they had throwed lemon ice-drink on him. He was freezing as he suddenly felt someone wiping the juice from his face.

"Damon! What happened?" His friend Rose asked him in a concerned tone.

She kneeled down to take his glasses from the ground, quickly putting them back on his face. One len was broken but at least he could see something.

"El-Elena and her f-friends…" He said looking down.

She sighed heavily, shaking her head as she helped him up.

"How many times I told you not to trust that girl, and especially not to fall for her? But no, not a time when you would listen to me!" She said throwing her arms up.

"I d-do now." He said quietly.

He saw it all clear now. Elena was nothing but a bitch. He would feel nothing but indifference and disgust for her from now on.

"Come on, Alaric is waiting for us. Let's get you home." Rose said as she took his hand and dragged him quickly to the parking lot of the school.

He saw Rose glaring furiously at someone and when he held up his gaze he saw Elena near her car. He stiffened as he looked at her, but he could swear that he saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes. She smiled a little and awkwardly at him, but he didn't care. What was done was done.

From now on he would despise Elena Gilbert with all he had. And when he finally graduated, he would get the hell out of this damn town and make something out of his himself. A drastical change in the better.

He had to.

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><p><em>Mystic Falls, 2012:<em>

"Come on Elena pretty please. You gotta come with us tonight, everyone's gonna be there! Even that hottie of Mason!" Caroline pratically begged.

She was sitting on one of the stools at the Mystic Grill, her shopping bags high on her arms.

Her fluffly blonde hair was just made and her make-up flawless as always. Caroline was definitely the barbie of the town.

"I already told you, I can't. I'm working tonight and Jeremy is also coming back." Elena said sighing deeply.

"Well can't he go at Jenna's place or something? Besides I can ask Matt if he can change your shift!" Caroline huffed.

"No." Elena said giving her a pointed look. "Also I don't want you to ask Matt favors just because you're dating. I'm very grateful that he gave me this job and I don't want to screw it up."

"Fine, be that way." Caroline said rolling her eyes. "But you're so going to regret it." She said before heading out high on her heels.

Elena huffed and took the drink that Caroline had just finished back in the kitchen. Her shifts had increased this week because Matt was sick and no one else could replace him. Thank god his sister Vicky and Rebekah were there.

"You can go if you want. We can manage for one night you know." Rebekah said.

"Thanks, but no. I honestly can't wait to just get back home and relax. And you know I don't like those crazy parties where Caroline always drags me to." She said.

"Not anymore you mean." Rebekah said, raising her eyebrows.

"Rebekah." Elena warned but she just shrugged. "I'm not that girl anymore…I didn't like being that girl." She whispered.

Her eyes were filled with sadness for a moment as she thought about how awful and shallow that girl was. How one of those damn parties she used to love caused her to lose the two most important people in her life.

"Okay. I get it." Rebekah said as she got closer.

She gently caressed her arm and smiled.

"But really, we've got tonight covered. Just go home and wait for Jeremy. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up with." She encouraged.

"Okay. Thank you." She said smiling weakly.

Finally Jeremy was coming back home after spending six months in Europe. He had searched for some great universities but had ended up wanting to get back in Mystic Falls. And the fact that the girl he had met in France and spent all his time there with, Anna, dumped him had convinced him even more. He seemed to really like her but it didn't end well.

Elena couldn't be happier though. She missed her little brother.

Stefan was also out of town for two weeks with his mother after someone close to his family died and they needed to be there.

Back in highschool she and Stefan attended the same classes, and even though she used to didn't even know his name at first, they became friends a while after the accident with her parents happened during their last year. She'd helped him to get through his weight problems and he'd somehow brought her back to reality, where not everything revolved around being popular and please other people. At first he wanted more than friendship, but she always made clear that she wanted nothing more than that. She, Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline all bonded along the way and they were now inseparable. They all grew up together.

As she put some dishes into the sink her phone started ringing and she immediatly picked up the call.

"Hello?" She said as she dryed her hands.

"Hey El." Stefan said.

"Stefan! How are you? When are you and your mother coming back? I miss you." She said fondly.

"Things are…messy right now. My mother wants to stay for at least two other weeks. My aunt is really devastated and she's all alone, you know." He said sighing sadly.

"Oh. I'm so sorry about that, Stef. If you need anything at all while you're away just tell me."

"Well there is something, actually." He said hesitantly.

"Perfect." She said casually.

If she could help in any way, she would gladly do it. Maria had been amazing to her after her parents died and she owed her a lot.

"My brother Damon is coming back." He said nervously.

She froze at those words. Stefan didn't talk about his brother often. He was one year older than them and after he graduated he left town and never came back. She didn't know what happened to him, and neither did Stefan or his mother. At least until now.

She vaguely remembered him. He was awkward and nerdy but he was a great guy. She still cursed herself for bulling him so much back then.

"What? When did you hear him?" She asked confused.

"He called my mother a few days ago. She actually fainted after hearing his voice after all these years. That bastard." He muttered angrily, and Elena could picture him shaking his head.

"Why is he coming back now?" She asked.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know what he's up to and I just…I don't want my mother to suffer again. If you see him, please talk to him. Tell him to wait for us to come back." He said sounding desperate.

"Stefan, I want to help you. I really do. But it's been six years, I don't even remember his face! And you know we didn't really get along..he would probably spit on my face if he saw me." she said quietly.

"Oh trust me, he remembers you for sure." Stefan said sounding a little too sure of himself. "And as you said it's been more than six years. We've all grown up. Also just look for an awkward weirdo and you'll know it's him." He said.

"Okay then, I'll do it." She said chuckling a little. "Do you know when he's coming back exactly or his phone number? I could set up a meeting." She said shrugging.

"No I don't actually. But he said it was a matter of days so he might as well be there already."

"I think that I would have recognized him if I saw him sticking around, don't you think?"

"Probably." Stefan said. "Either way, let me know if you get in contact with him. Please Elena. You're the only person I trust with this." He said serious.

"You know you can count on me." She said firmly. "I'll let you know. Give a hug to Maria from me. Bye Stef."

"Bye El." He said as he hang up.

She sighed quietly as she grew thoughtful. She slipped the phone back in her pocket and then felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"There's a costumer. And he's a hot one." Vicky whispered.

Elena rolled her eyes and shaked her head amused. She fixed her ponytail and then headed back to the bar.

Most of the hot males just tried to hit on her most of the times. She was used to it, and she now knew how to handle them. It had become a habit. If they eyed her first they would try to make a move, she would refuse them, and they would then pass to Rebekah or especially Vicky, who was always willing to be their one-time thing.

But as she saw this one…damn. Her knees almost buckled and she felt butterflies in her stomach and her face blushing hot. Often she was attracted to some customers, but this one was a whole other level. He was _breathtaking_.

You would want to ran your hands all over his reaven black silky hair, his face was one of a God and his body flawless. She had never seen such a beautiful and handsome man. Not even in a movie where they all seemed to be fallen from heaven. He was probably god himself. A fucking greek god.

She noticed that he was wearing all black and his leather jacket only added more points to his hotness. She blushed again as she realized that she was staring at him with her mouth open.

He leaned against the counter and smirked almost arrogantly.

"Are you going to stare at me forever or can I give you the order?" He said as he sat down on one of the stools.

And his eyes…god, his eyes! They were so blue and deep that you could look into them forever. Ocean blue eyes. The most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

She made a strangled noise and realized how pathetic she was being when she saw him flashing a wide smile. And his smile, his teeh were also perfect and so white….okay, stop it right now Elena, she thought.

"I am..oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm just tired and I've came off awfully. I know." She said laughing awkwardly.

Because yes, she was indeed being too awkward for her own good.

"No problem." He said as he checked her out.

His glance was cold as ice though and she immediatly felt uncomfortable. She had turned him off for sure.

"What can I bring you?" She asked.

"I would say bourbon, but I think that today I'm more in for a lemon ice-drink." He said giving her a tight smile.

Did she mention how attractive his cologne was? How intoxicating?

"Coming in a minute." She nodded as she stepped back into the kitchen, feeling the urge to take a deep breath to calm herself down. And maybe a change of panties.

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><p>It was her. It was truly her, goddamn it. He had to do everything in his power not to make her understand that her presence affected him. That something was wrong with him. He put on his poker face as best as he could as she, Elena Gilbert, took an order for him. At the Mystic Grill. What was happening?<p>

She had changed. She was a woman now. But she was still beautiful as he remembered. She still had that long chestnut hair that he used to love so much, that smooth and flawless body. Her eyes though seemed different. They held sadness, not that sparkle and life that she used to have in them.

Shit, shit, shit. You're not supposed to be affected by her after all these years. After what she's done to you. She was nothing but a shallow and bitchy rich girl who gave him nothing but crap in highschool. He hated her.

She was one of the many reasons of why he had left town. If not the most important one. That time when she made fun of him and told him all those awful thing still managed to be the the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to him in almost seven years.

He had changed though. He was not the pathetic, naive, scared, awkward nerdy guy anymore. He moved to Chicago and studied law, becoming one of the most respected and tough lawyers ever. He was a shark. Experiences and people made him become one.

Not only he changed his life, but he also changed himself and his being. You wouldn't say that this handsome stud was that lame four eyes that he was back then.

When he noticed the first changes and how the women were looking differently at him, he was still blind. He still couldn't believe that they were actually looking at him like _that_. Then he started going to the gym. He grew taller, his glasses were replaced by lens and his braces was gone right after he graduated.

Now all the women would throw themselves at him. Every woman wanted and craved for him.

How he became so cynical and cold, though, he still didn't know. Or maybe now he did.

It was still because of her. _Elena._

His heart still did crazy things when he saw her and he couldn't for the love of him figure out _why,_ after all she'd put him through. After all these years.

Maybe she was changed, maybe he should just look forward, move on and stop feeling hatred for her. He had never believed that she would be stuck in this town.

He thought that she was going to move in some cool city and settle there. She was Elena Gilbert, for god's sake!

Or maybe he would just give her a payoff. He could play with her and see how things would turn out now that he seemed to have quite an effect on her.

He smirked devishly as he thougth about how much he wanted to do it. Hell if he wanted to.

She came back with his drink five minutes later and he melted just a little when he saw the genuine smile on her face. She was…cute.

"Here it is." She said.

"Wait." He said as she turned to leave. "The bar is empty…we might as well talk a little." He said smirking that smirk that would make all the panties drop.

He saw the lust in her eyes and it hit him. It hit him how she was looking at him. She was looking at him in the way he wanted to be looked by her six years ago. The way he thought was never possible to be looked at by Elena.

She then smiled a shy smile and placed her hair behind her ear.

"I'm Elena." She said holding her hand out.

"Devon." He said taking her hand in his and shaking it lightly.

He found himself staring at her and holding her hand for a little too long. When he left it he immediatly felt the loss of her warm touch.

"I've never seen you before. Is this the first time you come to Mystic Falls?" She asked as she filled herself a glass of cold water.

"In a way, yes." He said looking at her straight in the eyes.

She was literally staring at him lips shamelessy as he pronounced the words smoothly and huskily and he wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. The old him would have probably passed out.

No...he wouldn't fall for it again. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' He thought.

She seemed so different though. He had learned to recognize fake and nasty people by now. But Elena…she now seemed everything but that. Her eyes were defeated and sad, and her laugh was now almost a soft giggle, not that smug one she used to have. If you gave her a lusty look she would blush a pink cute blush and look down shyly, she wouldn't be cocky about it.

She seemed to be eveything he hoped she could be. He hated how he was feeling more than he thought he could hate her. Coming back to town had probably been a bad idea. But now could he stay away?

They chatted for a while about nothing and everything at all but for almost the whole time he found himself just nodding and staring at her numbly.

"Well, I have to go. My shift is over and I really have to hurry. I hope to see you again tomorrow though." She said smiling. "Again...your name?" She asked as she giggled a little.

He cursed and kicked himself mentally as the words left his mouth without even thinking.

"Damon."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Soooo, first of all, thank you SO much for your support! You guys are truly amazing! I'm glad that on its first chapter this story seems already very liked and you guys are sticking with me. It really means a lot. Especially your inspiring and nice reviews. So please keep them coming! :)**

**I hope this chapter wi****ll hold up to your expectations. Thank you for reading and let me know what you think!**

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><p>"Damon."<p>

His name slipped before he could even think about it. Good way to start Damon, he thought.

Elena's face although was priceless. She blinked a couple of times as the smile fell off her face. How could he not enjoy this moment? He had swore to himself to despise the girl no matter what, and so he would. Just because she seemed changed it didn't mean she was. He wouldn't let her fool him again. Most of all, _he_ was the one who was changed. He didn't buy people's crap anymore and he had been told multiple times that he was quite the asshole now.

"Oh wait. I think that for you it's Devon, right?" He said pretending to sound toughtful, not able to keep a smirk between the amused and the devilish.

He noticed her blushing red but this time he knew that it was because she was feeling nervous.

"Are you…that Damon? Salvatore?" She asked incredulously.

"The one and only." He said giving her a snarky smile.

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. Moments which seemed heavy and too long. He didn't like eye-contact with her. Not like this. Her gaze was holding confusion and disbelief, and he could see a great trace of shame behind them.

He just settled into giving her his Damon-look. Cold, calculated, and almost intimidatory.

"I don't know what to say." She said sighing, shaking her head.

He snorted and shook his head as well. "Really? You seemed to be using your words quite well back in the days." He said as he cocker his head to the side a little.

"Why did you lie to me? You could have told me you were Stefan's brother." She said suddenly feeling uncomfortable, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't know. Maybe I just wanted to play with you." He shrugged, slowly standing up from the stool.

He smirked as he fixed his leather jacket, noting that she was looking at him _that_ way again. She just couldn't help herself, could she.

"Wait." Her voice stopped him on his tracks. "Stefan told me to talk to you. He and your mother are very upset because of your call. They didn't hear from you in years and they just want to know where have you been and how are you. Could you...just stay in town until they come back? Please?" She said quietly, not quite making eye-contact with him.

Wait. Stefan asked her? What the hell was that supposed to mean? As far as he remembered, his brother despised the girl and she obviously didn't even know who he was. How much did he miss?

"What? Are you and my baby brother a thing now?" He asked chuckling humorlessy. "Careful that he might crush you with those cute little rolls of fat of his." He said smirking.

Elena's eyes widened a little in surprise at his words as her lips puckered together in an angry way.

"Now you're just being mean." She said as she gave him a pointed look.

The amused and playful expression on his face faded suddenly at those words. How dare she, that _little bitch_? Did she have an amnesia and forgot how she used to give him nothing but crap?

"I take it as a compliment coming from you." He said giving her a death glare.

She gasped a little and he didn't think twice before heading out.

"Damon! Wait!" She called.

He didn't turn around. Not now – not ever.

Secretly he had still kept the keys from the Boarding House. He knew that the lock was still the same after all these years and that he could go and settle there. But the point was that he didn't want to.

Too many memories, too many thoughts, and emotional stuff all together. It just didn't feel like home anymore, so he rented a little apartment that he could use for his stay. Which he hoped wasn't too long.

As he stepped out of his Camaro and walked towards the apartment, he thought about the only thing that seemed to be changed ever since he'd left this average town. _Her_. Elena.

For the love of his, he couldn't get her out of his head. She was all he could think about during all the way here and he had to believe that it was because of how much her presence still bothered him.

She wasn't worth his thoughts; he knew that there was nothing but poison into that girl's heart. She had proved that to him a long time ago.

Truth be told he didn't even think that she was still going to be here. He had always thought about Elena ending up in a whole other place, a whole other level, not stuck in Mystic Falls working at the Donovan's grill.

He stepped inside the apartment and took his leather jacket off, throwing it somewhere on the couch. The place was nicely arranged and he could manage for the time being. He had called an housekeeper who luckily cleaned all up.

He owed his old friend Alaric one. He was the first person he called when he came back here. Apparently his wife Jenna managed an agency that rented and sold houses so he'd immediatly offered him to make Jenna find him a place to stay. Tomorrow night he was even invited at dinner at their house, apparently set up on a date with a chick called Sandy...Mandy…no, her name was probably Andie or something like that. He didn't quite remember.

Could it get any better already? Besides his surprisingly encounter with Elena, he had reached out to one of his dearest friends and he was probably going to get laid by tomorrow night. Awesome.

He threw himself on the fluffy bed sighing a little. He just wanted to relax and think about nothing..when Elena popped up in his mind. Again.

He mentally rolled his eyes. Although he couldn't help but think about her contagious smile and her soft voice, her naturalness in being so beautiful and how that body of hers just got better in the years.

He didn't realize that he was unconsciously smiling while thinking about it.

His phone started ringing all of a sudden pulling him out of his dreamy thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Mmm…why didn't you call me?" Katherine purred seductively from the other line.

"Kath." He acknoweledged rolling his eyes, trying to sound pleased by her call. "I had stuff to do. Besides, I call you _if_ I want to. Don't get clingy honey, it's not in you. And in me." He said.

"Damon!" She whined like a little girl and he could imagine her stomping her foot as one. "Don't treat me like trash, babe."

"What do you want, my adorable little pumpkin?" He said the last words sarcastically and batting his eye-lashes as he got up, taking his shirt off and heading towards the bathroom to run the shower.

"I was wondering if you were in for some phone-sex." She murmured mischeviously.

If it had been any other day, he would have probably told her yes. After all he was always in for some nasty time and Katherine was a great partner even from the other line of the phone. But today…it just didn't feel right.

In the back of his mind he knew that he could fantastize a lot better and a lot more about someone else during his shower if he wanted to, rather than have some dirty phone-sex with Katherine.

"I don't know Kath..I'm very tired ya know." He said rubbing his forehead.

She made a 'tsk' sound and he knew that she was feeling rejected.

"Damon Salvatore refusing sex? And with me?" She said, her voice going a little higher.

He didn't even bother to reply as he rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed and amused.

"Have a goodnight Kitty Kat." He said as he ended the call.

Hell if she could be annoying sometimes. They weren't actually involved, but some good time together was always appreciated.

He had met Katherine during one of his cases. She was an associate lawyer and they had ended up sleeping together from time to time.

It was just physical. Although he started believing that she was just beginning to mistake good sex for love.

He stripped of his clothes and stepped into the shower, thinking about someone else...

* * *

><p>She had just ended her shift as she came back home. She had thought about doing a little visit to Jenna but she was just too upset and tired.<p>

Her aunt seemed disappointed at first but she had then invited her over dinner tomorrow. She just came back from her honeymoon with Alaric and she was ecstatic.

She noticed that the lights were off which meant that Jeremy still hadn't come back. She missed her little brother so much. If he planned on doing another semester out of the country, she would be pissed. Maybe she was being selfish, but she needed him here. With Bonnie staying at her father's for a while, Caroline caught up in her parties and Matt, and Jenna absorbed in her new marriage life she felt alone.

Life sometimes was a bitch, and after seeing Damon today and remembering everything that she had done to him and how deeply she must have hurt him along with all that other kind of stuff that she used to do, she wondered if it was all a payoff. Maybe she deserved to be alone and sad. Maybe it was a punishment for being the person that she once was. Maybe what goes around really comes really around.

And Stefan? How could he be her friend knowing how bad she had treated his brother? Damon acted coldly and he had all reasons to be. She just wished he could one day understand that she was no longer that mean girl. If he indeed came back to stay, she truly hoped he would.

She pulled off in the driveway and took the box with the pizza from behind. Tonight she didn't feel like cooking.

She sighed heavily as she opened the door, a sudden feeling of emptiness surrounding her when she looked into the dark and empty house.

Once this place was home. She used to cherish happy moments with her parents and with Jeremy. It should still be like that, shouldn't it?

She took a Coke from the fridge and settled on the couch, turning on the TV as she started eating her pizza. As she kept pretending to be interested in what was airing, her mind was absorbed in something else.

Damon.

She still couldn't believe that _that_ was really him. He seemed like a different person. And not just physically, but his whole being too. He had changed drastically. She used to remember the awkward shy guy who kept stuttering as he spoke to her, which now thinking about it put a smile on her face. It was cute, he was cute and gentle with her. How could she have acted like such a bitch? Even if she didn't return his feelings, she never should have treated him like that in the first place. He didn't deserve it.

Now he was sure of himself and confident, well aware of the effect he had on people and especially on women with his charm. She wasn't going to lie about it, he probably was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. He was a God. She could just imagine the tiger that he was in bed…

Oh god, what was she thinking? She barely knew him. Well, she did know him, but not that way. And he probably hated her.

She could make a speech about how flaw-less Damon was. Because indeed, he now seemed to have no flaws.

Her soft smile dropped when she thought about Stefan and Maria. Why didn't he contact them? Why did he disappear like that on them? They didn't deserve it. The only thing she knew about was that they received a letter for Christmas and one for their respective birthdays. That was it.

She didn't want to get into stuff that wasn't her business, but she truly hoped that he sticked around. They deserved to know. He owed them at least that.

She finished her pizza and placed the empty box on the table nearby the TV, lying on the couch as she allowed herself to relax. She was about to fall asleep when she heard the door cracking open.

Her eyes immediatly shot wide open. She then realized that it was Jeremy and a huge grin spread across her face.

She got up and rubbed her eyes a little, facing her little brother standing near the door with a goofy grin and his suitcases near the door.

His hair was shorter, his body tougher, and he seemed so grown up. She felt tears in her eyes as she realized just how much she had missed him.

"Hey Lena." He said smiling.

"Jer!" She cried out as she ran to hug him.

She held him close to her and he held her tight as well, kissing the side of her head.

"I've missed you so much." She said as she pulled back and checked him out. She wiped a few tears away and smiled at him.

"I've missed you too 'sis." He said as he looked at her fondly.

All of a sudden she felt gleefully again and decided to cook plently for him. He complained saying that she didn't have to bother since he had already eaten on his way here but she didn't care. She finally had her brother back with her and tonight she would play her big sister role.

She prepared one of his favorites, chicken parmesan, which was one of her favorites as well. Maria taught her how to do it. Her cooking skills were amazing. Her Italian origins really did speak volumes in the kitchen.

Jeremy ate quickly and as he finished she served him one of his favorite ice-creams from Ben & Jerry's.

They chatted for a while as Elena asked him about his experiences and thoughts about Europe and people there. They talked for almost two hours and they laughed a lot as he told her stories and stories.

He told her about that girl Anna and how she broke his heart, but how now he had recovered and he was ready to move on.

As Jeremy got off to bed and she started cleaning the kitchen, she realized just how lonely she really was. Jeremy was pretty much all she had left of truly important.

The truth was that a part of her died with her parents, and she hadn't fully recovered. Truth be told she didn't even know how to do it or where to begin with.

Would the time of her life come?

The day had passed quickly and as usual. She was getting ready to go at Jenna's and she couldn't wait. She seemed so ecstatic on the phone, ready to fill her in of stories about the honeymoon.

She said that a couple of friends were coming over too and apologized that it wasn't just a family reunion. Apparently some old friend of Alaric's recently came back to town and they hadn't seen each other in years. She was fine with it. Alaric was a great man and she was sure that so would be his friend.

Jeremy was coming too and he'd just came back home from the bakery where he picked up the dessert to bring.

"Elena, are you ready? We're gonna be late. You know how fussy Jenna is when it comes to these things." He shouted from downstairs.

"In a minute." She shouted back as she put on some color rouge lipstick.

She didn't put make-up on often but on rare occasions it was pratically a must. Her hair was perfectly straightened and she just now realized how long it really was. The color of the lipstick matched heavenly with her olive skin and the rest of the make-up wasn't too heavy as well.

She checked herself in the mirror and in the end decided that she was ready. Her black dress fit perfectly on her as it showed her long smooth legs. It wasn't quite the mischevious outfit, but just a nice simple dress.

"Let's go?" She said picking her purse as Jeremy turned around.

He shook his head in amusement and gave her a look. "Those heels are too high." He complained pointing at her shoes.

She groaned lightly and rolled her eyes. "Go get the car and shut up Jer, I'm still the eldest here. You don't get to bug me." She said playfully.

As they drived to Jenna's house, in her mind popped up something, or better someone, who she managed not to think about all day. Until now.

Today Damon hadn't showed up at all and she couldn't quite understand why it bothered her. She'd kept glancing at the door during all her shift waiting for him to come in. He didn't like her and to be honest she didn't even like his arrogant attitude. So why did she want him to come? Maybe to fully apologize for her behavior?

She kept repeating to herself that it was because she was afraid that he had left already after their talk of yesterday, maybe chickening out about seeing his mother and his brother again after all these years.

They parked right behind a Camaro and she saw Jeremy looking at it approvingly.

"The guy who owns that car sure has style." He said as he stepped out of the car.

They rang at the doorbell and less than one minute later a grinning Jenna was opening the door.

She squealed loudly and Elena almost chuckled when she saw Jeremy widening his eyes in desperation and horror, ready for a full-force Jenna on him.

"Jeremy! You're finally back, kid! Do you even realize how much did we miss you? How did I worry about you being so far away? Don't you dare leave us again." She said as she pulled him into a hug, squeezing him hard.

"I'm a big boy Jenna." He said as she kept hugging him.

"I know. And I'm so proud of you." She said, her eyes a little teary.

He kissed her cheek and headed to the kitchen bringing the dessert.

She then looked at Elena, a fond smile on her face.

"Come here you." She said as she hugged Elena too.

Jenna was such a hugger it wasn't even funny.

"You look gorgeous, Lena." She said as she looked at her.

Elena blushed slightly and murmured a little 'thanks'.

"You have to tell me everything about the honeymoon, Jenna. I want every detail." Elena said winking.

"Elena!" Jenna exclaimed blushing, elbowing her.

Elena chuckled and elbowed back.

"Who's here?" She then asked as she heard voices in the background.

"There's Logan Fell, that reporter, you remember him? I had to invite him, you know why. His friend and colleague Andie who's a friend of mine too is on her way. Oh…and there's Alaric's friend. Jeez, Elena. If you're still single and free just jump on him already! He's the definition of sex!" Jenna hissed excitedly.

"Jenna! You're a married woman now, watch your words!" Elena said giggling.

"Still, he's so sexy Elena. And he's funny and charming. But I kinda set him up with my friend Andie, so…" Jenna said looking a little regretful.

"Oh don't worry. I'm fine this way." Elena reassured her with a smile.

She then felt her ankle pinching a little and rolled her eyes as she realized that she didn't cut the label of the dress.

"Look Jenna can I use the bathroom for one second? The label of the dress is kind of bothering me." She said biting her lip.

"Sure. Up the stairs then to the left." Jenna said with a smile.

She smiled back as she ran upstairs and closed the door. She quickly stripped leaving herself only in panties and bra as she struggled to find a pair of snip to cut the label with. Damn it. Why didn't the damn door had a key anyway?

She could just hope that no one ran into her in the meantime.

* * *

><p>"So, did your friend Andie arrive?" Damon asked with a smirk as he sipped a glass of red wine that Alaric had just opened.<p>

"Oh no, that was just my niece. I'm pretty sure you're gonna like her a lot." Jenna said smiling broadly.

He had just met Jenna's nephew Jeremy who seemed pretty cool. He seemed sure of himself and very mature for his age. Jenna's friend Logan Fell was also here but he was a douchebag.

The house was nice and warm and he was truly happy for Alaric. He'd settled down and started his life with someone he loved. Even if he would never admit it, he kind of envied him. He had it all.

Alaric was a little older than him but that didn't stop them from becoming friends during highschool. They had met at the library of the town and bonded over some books. Alaric used to be a geek too and in fact he became a teacher.

Even though he had been his best friend for a lot of time, he never told him about Elena. That was something that he liked to keep for himself. He didn't use to talk about it with no one, except Stefan who had pratically figured it out on his own.

He was wearing a John Varvatos's black shirt, black jeans, and black boots. And of course his leather jacket.

He had put on his favorite cologne which seemed to have intoxicated even Jenna at first, and hell, she was a married woman.

Damn, I'm sexy and I know it, he thought while smirking cockily.

Jenna's dog Pacey suddenly jumped on him and a little bit of wine fell on his shirt.

"Shit." He muttered as he checked the damage.

"Oh god…I'm so sorry, Damon!" Jenna gasped immediatly. She scolded Pacey and sent him in the living room as he made a whimpering noise.

"It's okay Jenna, seriously." Damon said with nonchalance.

He had tons of these shirts anyway. He noticed that some of it was on his hands too and now they were all sticky.

"Look I'm just going to have to use the bathroom for a second. Can you tell me where is it please?" He asked.

"Sure. It's upstairs. Use the one on the left or the other one near Ric's office." She said.

He nodded with a smile and headed upstairs. Honestly he had no clue which one Alaric's office was so he just opted for the left one.

He wasn't prepared to what he was about to see, though. His jaw literally dropped as he thought that he was hallucinating. Heavily, even.

There she was; Elena Gilbert in nothing but lingerie. She was wearing a black lace bra and panties and he couldn't breathe properly at the sight.

What in the actual fuck? What was Elena doing at Jenna's house, his best friend's wife for god's sake, only in her bra and panties?

She was flawless. Elena was flawless and that was never going to change. Her legs were long and smooth, and her boobs…gosh, her boobs! While in highschool she was still beautiful and attractive, now she was one hell of a sexy woman. Her long hair cascading down her back wildly just made the sight all hotter.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed.

Elena jumped a little at his voice and her eyes literally widened in embarassment when she saw him standing there. He could see her blushing hard even from here as she immediatly covered herself with a dress.

"Damon? What the hell?" She shouted, her face confused as his. "Close the door!"

He was still unmoving as a statue as his mind kept processing things.

"I said close that door!" She repeated more urgently.

"Yeah, uhm, I…sorry." He said as he slammed the door.

He leaned against the door as his heart started racing down. A bit, at least. Fuck. What he just saw was pretty much one of the many recurring dreams that he used to have in highschool and he still couldn't believe it had just happened.

Thinking about her all shy and freaking out made him chuckle a little.

He felt the door opening and stumbled a little.

He turned towards her and saw that she was fuming. She grabbed his arm and harshly dragged him into one of the rooms.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smirked mischeviously, slowly checking her out knowing full well that it would annoy her right now.

"I could ask you the same thing, little Miss no clothes." He said.

She growled in frustration and blushed as her jaw tightened.

"I'm serious, Damon. How do you know Jenna?" She asked.

"I didn't know her personally until tonight. She's my buddy's Alaric wife." He said. "What about you?"

"She's my aunt." She said.

They stayed quiet for a few moments, just looking into each other's eyes. Ocean blue eyes versus brown doe eyes.

She gulped a little and he smirked when he understood that he was making her nervous.

"I still think you're awful." He said holding her gaze.

"Pardon?" She said narrowing her eyes.

He didn't reply to her as he headed towards the door, stepping outside. A moment later he opened it again, peeking into the room with his head with his smirk still in place.

"And you should lose some weight on dat ass." He said, arrogantly winking at her.

She groaned out loud as she threw her purse at him, not quite hitting him because the the door was already closed.

_He_ was an ass. Arrogant, cocky, annoying, smart _ass_.

She didn't know if she could stand having him here with Stefan not around. He was unbereable and unpredictable.

Still, that feeling of wanting to see him again that she'd felt for all today, was still there and she couldn't expain _why_.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Again - I can't thank you guys enough for the support that you're showing me. Your alerting, favoriting, and especially reviewing this story really inspires me so please keep letting me know what you think!  
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**Plus I would like your advice on something; would you like me to write major angst, or something that isn't too heavy? Personally I'm not a sucker for long-term angst, but I also wanted to try something different from my other stories. Although I'm not sure.**

**Anyhow let me know what you think and meanwhile I'll keep thinking about it. LOL.**

**Thank you again for reading and please review!** **:)**

* * *

><p>What was she supposed to do now? Keep pretending that they didn't know each other, or awkwardly explaining <em>how<em> they knew each other?

Elena decided that if asked she would casually say that they went at the same school during highschool, and if Damon was smart enough, he would probably do the same. There was no need to involve other people with the details.

He had made clear enough that he despised her so keeping it cool was the best thing to do.

She made a mental note to call Stefan later, always if he was reachable. His brother had clearly changed drastically in a matter of six years and he needed to be aware of that. Their mother too.

Elena felt suddenly anger filling her as the thought about how Damon hadn't been around for years. She would have known if he came back even for a little period of time. But not once that he did.

They didn't touch the argument very often but Stefan believed that it was because of the hatred that he felt for this town and how everyone treated him. He took off right after graduating, which meant that he was a little older than eighteen-years old.

What she guessed was that he felt probably ashamed at some point. Maybe he didn't want to come back because he knew how deeply he had hurt his family. But didn't he realize how much he was hurting them in the first place? She could be completely wrong and he could have completely different reasons…it wasn't her business anyway.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door cracking open.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked as he rested against the side of the door.

"Just fixing my dress." She said smiling weakly.

She quickly smoothed her hair taking a look in Jenna's mirror as she stepped outside with him.

"Jer..can I ask you something?" She said quietly.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I know that I'm your sister so you probably don't even notice these things but...is my butt kinda large, big or whatever you would say?" She said sighing deeply, a little embarassed about asking it to Jeremy.

He snorted as he shook his head and Elena narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry." He said as he tried to stop his laugh. "But no, you don't. You have a pretty nice butt but again you're my sister so yeah…this is kinda awkward." He said a little appalled.

She rolled her eyes and headed downstairs.

She immediatly felt a strong female perfume and she groaned a little. She hated when women wore fancy fragrances and used like the whole bottle in one time just because they felt cool doing it. It was nauseating.

She then saw Jenna hugging and squealing with another woman and guessed that it was probably her the cause of the problem.

"Oh hey Elena, she's my friend Andie." Jenna said smiling as she introduced them.

Elena felt a little intimidated by her look as she checked her out from tip to toe. She then gave her a fake smile and headed her hand out.

"Hi." She said in a sing-songing voice almost as if she was talking to a five-years old, her fake smile still in place. "I'm Andie."

"I'm Elena. Nice to meet you." She said pretending a smile as she shaked her hand.

She took off her coat and all that scent that she had smelled before just grew more powerful and Elena had to keep herself from plugging her nose.

They all headed into the large living room and she noticed how Damon and Alaric immediatly turned around at the sound of Andie's needle heels. How could she ever walk in those things, she would never figure out. And why wouldn't she take off that little fugly scarf? She didn't know why but she just didn't like the girl. The predatory look that she threw at Damon once she noticed him surely didn't help. Wait, why did she even care anyway? She didn't. She couldn't care less if they ended up marring and having tons of little annoying babies fugly like their mother.

Damon returned her flirty look with an equal flirty smirk and she had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Just let the two most annoying people in the room pair up already she thought.

"Andie." She introduced herself softly as she extended her hand. "Jenna told me great things about you."

"I'm Damon." He pratically charmed her, bringing the palm of her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. "And it's mutual." He concluded with his usual smirk.

It was just puke-worthy. She then felt a hand resting on her hip and she nearly jumped.

"Hello dear Elena." The familiar voice said. "Don't you look just stunning tonight?" Logan said.

She loved Jenna, she really did, but how come that there were more annoying people in the room than ones that she actually cared about? Couldn't Logan and so-called Andie just get lost already? And Damon too. Obviously…

"Logan…long time no see." She said as the tried not to cringe.

He was Jenna's boss but he was also an ex-fling. She remembered him sneaking out of Jenna's bedroom a few times when she was a little older than sixteen. However things didn't work out and even though Jenna couldn't stand him anymore, he had rudely insisted in coming over.

"Indeed." He said as he threw her a look that she didn't like.

She looked across the room and saw Damon eyeing their interactions for a moment but he immediatly turned around when he caught her eye.

Jenna and Alaric took Logan and Andie to show them the house and Jeremy was sitting at Ric's laptop playing some game, so she awkwardly remained in Damon's company.

She still felt embarassed and uncomfortable, and the way he was looking at her when she caught his gaze wasn't helping.

"Some wine?" He politely asked as he took the already opened bottle of Merlot from the table.

"Yes, thanks." She said clearing her throat when she heard her voice being a little weak.

He slowly poured her some of the wine and she quickly took a sip.

"What do you think about her?" Elena found herself asking.

He seemed thoughtful for a moment. "She seems really cool and smart. I was looking forward to meet her to be honest." He told her sincerely.

Her shoulders fell a little at his answer. Why was she disappointed?

"If you say so…" She said casually as she took another sip.

He gave her a strange look and spoke again. "Well gee Elena, I thought you had a better opinion about your aunt." He scoffed as he drank some wine himself.

Her eyebrows knitted together as she heard his words. Wait…was he talking about _Jenna_?

He suddenly grinned like a Cheshire cat and shook his head a little.

"Considering your reaction, I guess you were talking about the other her." He said. "But why do you even care what I think about Annie?"

She bit her lip from smiling and cleared her throat a little.

"I think it's Andie, actually. And I was uhm…just wondering since she has a pretty strong perfume on her, so I just wanted to know if you noticed too." She invented the excuse as she finished her wine in one gulp.

He lowered his head a little to her neck to smell her and she found herself shivering at his closeness. She could smell his cologne, shampoo, aftershave or whatever it was and it sent goosebumps down her spine.

"Well I think yours is better." He said as he pulled away casually, almost as if the closeness didn't affect him the way it did with her. Or maybe it did since he swallowed nervously and drank his wine in one gulp.

She blushed hard and recomposed immediatly as the others rentered the room. They all took a seat and soon enough Jenna was serving lasagna.

"Oh my god, I love lasagna and this is exquisite. Cheers Jenna." Elena said as she took a bite.

She saw Damon throwing her a cocky look but she shrugged it off.

"Damon came a little earlier and helped me cooking. It's him you guys should thank." Jenna said smiling.

They all turned to Damon and he explained that he pretty much knew how to cook every Italian dish due to his origins.

It was something that Elena already knew since she knew how well Maria could cook, but she was surprised that Damon kept the tradition going, since Stefan could barely make a sandwich.

"Well it's really good Damon." She found herself bound saying.

"Enjoy." He told her, giving her that little sarcastic voice and look that only her could notice.

She threw him a grimace and he smirked amused.

Pity that she ended up being in the seat in front of Andie and she just couldn't enjoy her meal properly.

She was taking such small bites and eating so slowly that not even a newborn ate that way. And looking at her so closely Elena noticed how literally fake she was. She'd had a boob-job and you could see it a mile away even from her silky shirt, she was a fake blonde, and the heavy make-up on her face just screamed how completely different she probably was without. She actually could go on all day pointing out all her flaws and fakeness. And those flirty knowing looks that she threw at Damon from time to time…so annoying.

She hadn't judged a person like this since forever. She meant it when she said that she wasn't the mean immature girl from highschool anymore, it just didn't suit her at all. The last person she had found herself bulling was Tyler Lockwood after he cheated on Caroline about two years ago.

So what was that was bothering her so much about Andie? Just then she whispered something in Damon's ear and he laughed at her words.

She turned her head around not to see the scene just to be faced with a mischevious Logan eyeing her.

What a night.

She stood up and offered to bring the dessert and as Jenna stood up too to help her with the dishes, Logan told her that he would do it.

She cringed a little. She really felt uncomfortable around that man, he just inspired malice.

"What's for dessert?" He said getting closer once they were in the kitchen.

"Chocolate cake." She quickly replied, not making eye-contact.

"Are you sure?" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her closer.

"Get off." She said as she pushed his hard body away.

"Oh come on…I remember you being so feisty." He chuckled devishly, gripping her wirsts tightly.

"I said get off." She repeated more firmly, her heart beating fastly.

Just then she heard the strong, male voice.

"Is there a problem?" Damon said with a serious look on his face.

"None at all." Logan said annoyed as he loosened his grip on her.

She immediatly escaped and tried to calm her racing heart.

As she was about to pass ahead him, Damon gently but firmly took her arm in his hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his face not holding any tipe of emotion as he checked her face.

She swalloed nervously and nodded, walking past him.

As Elena stepped out of the kitchen, he slowly started walking towards the counter where Logan was casually cutting slices of cake.

"If you touch her again, you better lawyer up asshole. But remember that you ain't got a chance against me in a courtroom." He said as he patted Logan's shoulder. "Do we understand each other?" He asked deadly serious with a tight smile.

"Yeah." Logan scoffed trying to sound unaffected.

"Great." He said as he walked away.

By the end of the night everyone had fun and the accident with Logan was pretty much forgotten. From time to time Damon would throw a glance at Elena but she kept avoiding his gaze.

What happened was minimal, yes, but her wrist still hurt from Logan's manhandling.

Jenna and Alaric talked about their honeymoon at the Hawaii and how much fun they had. Their skins were tanned and their faces relaxed. Elena realized since how long she didn't go on a real vacation and sighed quietly. Last time was with Bonnie and Caroline more than an year ago.

She looked at Andie sitting in the same couch as Damon and almost rolled her eyes. She was just so clingy and transparent about how much she was into him.

She yawned a little and realized that it was almost midnight. She nudged Jeremy and quietly asked him if he wanted to go. He nodded and got up, going to take their coats.

"We're going Jenna." Elena said smiling as she headed towards Jenna to kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you for the great night. I'm so happy for you and Ric."

"Thank you honey." Jenna said as she got up and hugged her. "I love you and that little terror of your brother." She said as she chuckled a little.

Alaric hugged her too as he told her to come by more often. He'd been with Jenna for years now and she saw him as a paternal figure.

She waved at the others, her gaze holding Damon's for a moment. He surprised her by getting up and motioning with his head to follow her in the hallway as he said invented some excuse about Stefan.

"Thank you for earlier." She said as she uncomfortably crossed her arms.

"It was nothing." He simply replied.

"No Damon, seriously. Thank you. Logan is known for manhandling women and being rough." She said. "You've been quite the gentleman." She said attempting a smile.

"I would have done it for anyone. I know people like Logan Fell. As I said, it was nothing. But if he tries it again don't hesitate at letting me know. I can help you." He said serious.

Her smile fell as she realized that he wasn't even interested in creating some kind of bond with her. He would have done it for anyone obviously. It was his job. She was like everybody else for him.

She nodded a little and walked towards Jeremy who was saying goodbye to Jenna and Alaric.

"Elena?" Damon called.

She turned around and saw him smiling tightly.

"Goodnight." He said.

"Goodnight." She said, returning his smile.

As she and Jeremy headed out she noticed the blue Camaro which probably belonged to Damon and smiled a little. It was so him.

"It was fun tonight." Jeremy stated as they got into the car.

"Yeah…if Logan and that friend of his weren't there it would have probably been better." She muttered.

"That Damon guy seems pretty cool though." Jeremy said shrugging. "He's Stefan's brother right?"

"Yep." She said nodding.

As they got home Jeremy immediatly went to bed saying goodnight.

She took off her make-up and put her pajama on before trying to call Stefan. She had tried to call him all morning but he didn't reply.

Even now his phone was on voice-mail and she huffed in frustration.

"Hey Stefan it's me. I've been trying to call you for hours, where are you? When you hear this message call me back. It's important. Okay…bye." She said before turning off her phone. She then crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep, unconsciously thinking about those ocean blue yes.

* * *

><p>Next morning was a hurry as her shift started at 10 am and she only woke-up at 9:30. She quickly got dressed and brushed her teeth and combed her hair. She left the house quickly waving to Jeremy who was eating his breakfast.<p>

The morning at the grill was pretty quiet as Vicky told her about how Tyler Lockwood wanted to get back with her and bla, bla, bla.

It was always the same story with that d-bag. Rebekah quickly got tired of the story and snapped telling her that he would cheat on her and dump her again as always. It almost started a catfight and Elena rolled her eyes at how the routine was always the same in this freaking place. Vicky was blind when it came to Tyler, but Rebekah should just leave it alone. She knew how Vicky would react anyways.

"What can I bring you?" She asked in her usual bored tone as another costumer took a seat on the stool. She didn't even bother to look up.

"Bourbon please, little Miss no clothes." He said.

She immediatly looked up just to be faced with a smirking Damon. She blushed as she remembered about last night and rolled her eyes.

He was wearing his usual leather jacket and Elena realized that she could now recognize it from miles away. She was almost growing fond of it.

"Damon. Always a pleasure." She said in a sarcastic tone. "What are you doing here so early anyway?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"Waiting for someone." He said shrugging casually.

"Who?"

"That's for me to know and for you to dot, dot, dot…" He said.

She rolled her eyes again, something that she found herself doing quite often when she was around him, and brought him his bourbon a few minutes later.

She stopped on her tracks though when she saw who he was greeting. Of course it was her…that little skank of Andie had to put her paws on him one way or another.

She took a deep breath and headed towards them. She was sitting in the stool next to him as they chatted casually.

Elena cleared her throat as to make her presence known and quickly handed Damon his bourbon.

"Elena." Andie greeted, batting her eye-lashes. "I didn't know you worked her sweetie." She said with her fake _I'm-better-than-you_ smile.

"It's been a while now." Elena said.

Damon was avoiding her gaze and she didn't understand why.

"Let's take a table and eat something? I so have to tell you about that thing." Andie said as Damon finished his drink.

"Yeah, sure. You sure you want nothing to drink fist?"

"Nah." She said as she winked at him.

She grabbed his arm and dragged him in one of the free tables. Elena noticed how she chose one of the most far away from the bar and wondered if she did it on purpose.

She didn't know why, maybe it was because she didn't like that chick at all, but she really didn't like the idea of Damon and Andie possibly dating. For some reason it just annoyed her.

She shrugged off the weird feeling as she rentered the kitchen.

"Your phone was ringing." Rebekah told her.

"Oh, thanks." She said as she went where the lockers for the employes were.

She took it from her locker and saw three missed calls from Stefan. What a great timing.

She called back and he picked up at the first ring.

"Finally!" He said.

"Seriously?" She scoffed. "I've been trying to reach you for a day Stef."

"Yeah...sorry about that. Mom and I were so busy with my aunt. You don't even know Elena, just shoot me now." He huffed frustrated. "But we're coming back today. Happy?"

Her heart started beating faster as she realized that she still hadn't told him that Damon was back. Crap.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily searching for the words.

"About that...Damon is back Stefan. I've been trying to call you all day yesterday to tell you that." She said bluntly.

He stayed quiet for a few moments. She couldn't even hear his breathing.

"Are you still here?"

"Yes I…thank you for telling me…I need to tell mom now. I hope she won't faint again or something. Shit." He said.

"I'm sorry Stefan." She said, her voice understanding.

"See you later." He said as he hang up.

Family drama was about to start...did she have to tell Damon that his mother and Stefan were coming back today? Or would it bother him? She decided to do it now and she couldn't care less if she had to interrupt his little date with Andie.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you so much for your support and your kind reviews - I really appreciate it a lot and I love knowing what you think!**

**This chapter gets a little heavy towards the end and we get to know a little why Damon left and never came back...although I'm going to deepen the argument in later chapters. And I'm sure most of you won't find the end of this chapter very pleasing, sorry about that. :P**

**Damon in this story is quite complicated and insecure about his feelings so it might take him a while before he loosens up. He's stubborn, lol. But fear not because it won't take too long... ;)**

**Please enjoy and let me know your thoughts! xoxo**

**BTW I've created an account on Twitter, where you can ask me questions or whatever you like about this story or "Luckily You Exist". Follow me if you want to, the username is the same as here: AndThenYou_  
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><p>Elena hurried out of the kitchen and went straight to Damon. She probably shouldn't bother, since it wasn't any of her business. Most of all she shouldn't care about that cocky ass but somehow she did.<p>

He may have made a wrong choice by never coming back and leaving his family behind, but still it would be better if he prepared himself for the storm instead of finding himself face to face with Stefan and Maria all of a sudden, right?

She rolled her eyes as she saw Andie laughing at something he said, but she approached them anyway. Her smile immediatly fell as she saw Elena.

Damon turned around, looking surprised to find her there.

"We already ordered." He said rudely before turning around again.

She wanted to yell at him what a rude jerk he was being but she kept herself together.

"Actually I have to talk to you." She said sternly.

He sighed a little, almost as if in mocking her, and she saw Andie keeping a smug snort. God how she wanted to strangle her.

"We're kinda in the middle of something here, can't it wait?" He replied faking her a smile.

She was fuming right now. She was trying to subtly tell him that it was something important, and he still acted so dickish? If it wasn't for how much she cared about Stefan and if he wasn't his brother she would have probably told him to go to hell by now.

"Fine, be that way. If you don't want to know about your mother and your brother coming back I guess it's on you." She said firmly as she started walking away.

Right after she did she smiled smugly as she heard him quietly apologizing to Andie and then calling her name. He reached her at the bar and she turned around, crossing her arms in a pissy way.

She gave him a questioning look raising one eyebrow and he sighed a little, looking a little uncomfortable.

"What did they tell you?" He asked.

"They're coming back today. I just wanted to warn you so you could get used to the idea…you haven't seen each other in a very long time." She said almost in understanding, her arms still crossed.

He stayed quiet for a few long moments, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I…thank you for telling me." He said quietly, gulping nervously.

She could see how nervous and tense he looked and she honestly wanted to comfort him. He looked almost scared and he seemed to be a tough person, handling Logan last night proving it further.

She opened her mouth a couple of times to say something but nothing came out. He didn't like her and he wasn't afraid to show it, and somehow it made her feel uncomfortable and unsure on how to act around him.

"I gotta get back to Andie now…I'll see you around." He said.

"Damon?" Elena called as he started walking away. "I have the keys of the Boarding House. I could go with you if you want to." She said tentatively.

"I already have mine." He said.

She sighed a little, trying not to mind his arrogant attitude.

"They changed the lockers during the years..I doubt you have a new key." She said raising her eyebrow.

He stiffened a little and his expression grew darker.

"Fine." He said sounding annoyed.

"I'm just trying to help you here, you could at least stop acting so arrogantly." She said as she shook her head. He was unbelievable.

He got closer again, looking at her firmly in the eyes.

"I've already told you that I don't like you." He said sternly. "If you want to help me so bad, then that's your problem. I couldn't care less." He said, making her gasp a little.

And with that, he was gone.

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><p>Andie kept talking but what she was saying really didn't interest him at the moment. She was nice and all but right now he just couldn't bring himself to care. His mother and Stefan were coming back and that was all he could think about. <em>Almost<em>...

"So yes I was interviewing him and he kept staring at my breasts, I mean, who does that? The mayor is totally a manwhore." Andie conclued. "Have you ever met him?"

That snapped him out of his thoughts as he focused his attention on her again.

"Sorry who?"

"The mayor." She said again, looking confused and a little annoyed.

"Oh yeah right…no. But I know his son." He said.

"Are you okay? It's like you're not here at all." She said.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "Just…family business." He said shrugging casually.

And I'm thinking about another girl while on a date with you, he wanted to say. As much as he wanted to keep her off his thoughts he just couldn't keep Elena off his mind. What game was she playing? Acting all nice and caring, what was the point?

And he couldn't stop picturing her flawless and petite body and how she looked last night. He'd tried to avoid it but he had devoured her with his eyes all night. It pissed him off badly when that douchebag of Logan Fell manhandled her. How dare he? But then he thought about the fact that he didn't like her as a person. That he didn't like who she was and how his brother most likely became a shallow and dumb person just like her. Stefan had betrayed him by becoming friend with one of the people he despised the most. She looked changed, it was almost like she was another person, the best version of herself...but he didn't care. What was done was done, and he wouldn't let her fool him again. The last time she had acted so nicely with him it ended up being one of the most humiliating moments of his life. No, he didn't like her, and he never would. He had to keep his mind on this Andie girl who even though seemed to be a little nuts, it was sure as hell better than Elena.

They kept chatting and he tried his best to keep focusing on her instead of making his mind go off somewhere else. He wasn't looking for a relationship, especially not in Mystic Falls. But who said that he couldn't have a little bit of fun while in here?

They finished eating and she said that she had to run back to work, although she made pretty clear that she wanted to go on with whatever they were building. He kept it casual and told her that he would call her eventually.

His eyes immediatly turned to the bar where he saw Elena wearing her normal clothes and talking with one of her co-workers. He was tempted to go there and ask her if they could just go to the damn Boarding House already but he didn't want to sound needy. Sure as hell not with her.

She caught his eye and started heading towards him. He stirred a little and cleared his throat, not quite sure of why she made him so nervous.

"So…" She sighed, crossing her arms. "Are you done here or your _starr_ is still around?"

He rolled his eyes but held back a laugh at her comment. He got up, putting the bill on the table as he put his leather jacket on.

"Look Elena why don't you just give me those keys and I go alone? After all that house is mine too." He said, trying his best not to sound rude.

She cocked her brow, a mix of amusement and annoyance on her features. He gave her a sarcastic expectant look shaking his head and she rolled her eyes.

"For the love of god Damon, no." She spat firmly.

His expression darkened and he huffed quietly cursing under his breath.

"I'm not deaf, _bitch_." She said narrowing her eyes as she headed towards the exit.

He followed her outside not sure if she had to go with him or if she would go with her own car.

"Do you _want._..uhm, need a ride?" He asked.

"I…no thanks, I have my car." She said smiling tightly.

He returned her smile and then quickly headed towards his car.

It took them a little more than ten minutes to get there, and he felt a pang in his chest as he looked at the house. He hadn't been there…in years. That house used to be home once. It looked still the same, expect for the garden which seemed to hold more green and flowers.

He gulped nervously and stepped out of his car, Elena pulling behind him just then.

He'd tried not to care and pretend that it didn't matter to him anymore, but all the things he had buried inside him seemed to be getting the best of him right now. He remembered that Elena was there with him and that wasn't the moment to think about the past.

"If you want a few moments alone I understand. I'll wait for you inside." She said softly.

He almost didn't hear her approaching him but he was astonished at her understanding. It was like she was reading his mind.

"I'll just…okay, you go ahead." He relented as she nodded at him.

He took in the huge maison and sighed quietly. He then looked at his window and smiled softly as he remembered his old room. He wondered if it had ever been touched at all ever since he left.

After a few more minutes he finally went inside and immediatly recognized everything. Besides a few changes here and there, the house still looked exactly as he remembered it.

He heard noises in the kitchen and stepped inside, seeing Elena putting some groceries into the fridge and shelves.

"What are you doing?" He asked leaning casually against the door frame, his arms crossed.

"I bought some food earlier. They're coming back in the evening and I don't want them to starv." She said shrugging.

His jaw clentched at the thought of Elena being all cozy and intimate with _his_ family. She had no rights.

"So you're what now, part of the family or something like that?" He asked bitterly.

She stopped her movements and sighed quietly, leaning against the counter.

"We're very close to each other." She said without hesitation. "Your mother…she helped me during a rough time, and so did Stefan. I owe them so much." She said. Her voice holding respect.

"Sure they did." He said, chuckling humorless as he shook his head. "You're quite the actress Elena. Such a pity that you're working in that mediocre place."

Her expression hardened instantly and she clentched her fists. She got closer to him, her face cold and hard.

"You know what Damon, it's really not my fault if you've missed out so much during these six years. If you feel guilty about it then take it on yourself because I sure as hell don't deserve to be treated like this by an ass who doesn't know me at all, despite what _you_ seem to believe." She spat at him.

He flinched a little as she breathed heavily.

"I did." He just said after long moments of silence. "I came back three years ago if you really want to know, but actually this isn't any of your business." He said sternly.

She immediatly looked up at him again, her eyes wide and pure confusion on her face.

"What?" She breathed.

"Forget it." He said as he went into the living room.

He headed towards the wet bar and was pleased to find his old friend bourbon. He poured himself a glass as he drank it in one gulp.

He then sat on the couch staring at the fireplace. He noticed Elena slowly sitting on the other side of the couch, looking calmer than a few minutes ago.

They sat in silence for a while when she finally spoke up.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" She asked quietly.

He could almost hear pity in her voice and he hated it. Damn it, of all people he had to have an outburst with her.

"As I said it's none of your damn business." He said harshly as he refilled his glass.

"You know, sometimes confiding in people can help. I get that you want to keep things to yourself and it's totally right. And I know that we aren't exactly on good terms but if you ever want to talk…I'm here. I promise I won't tell anything to Stefan if you don't want me to." She said calmly.

He felt his heart skipping a beat at the truth of her words. He really did want to let it out and confess why he never had the guts to really come back, but he couldn't. Especially not with her. He couldn't open his heart again and letting himself feel all of the things he felt for her. She was a weakness and he didn't do weakness.

So he did what he did best, shutting people out.

"Just get out please." He said, not making eye-contact.

He heard her gasping a little in surprise and she stood up after a few seconds.

"I didn't mean to…" She started.

He got up too, slamming the glass on the nearby table.

"You didn't mean to what? Being a bitch to me ever since we knew each other except for your little stupid act during these few days? Or keep on pretending that you give two shits about what me or my family go through? I sure as hell don't want your pity, you're the last person who has to even _dare_ pitying me. So just get the hell out of my house." He said, speaking the last words slowly.

He saw a flicker of hurt in her face and he immediatly regretted being so hard on her.

"Whatever you say, Damon." She said in almost a whisper.

She quickly walked towards the door and it slammed shut after a few seconds. He plopped back on the couch holding his face in his hands as he sighed heavily.

"Fuck." He muttered.

He started a fire and then poured two other glasses of alcohol. After a while he felt himself growing dizzy and he laid on the couch, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he slowly faded into a deep sleep.

Three hours later he was woken up by someone throwing some cold water on his face. He cursed loudly and suddenly stood up.

He heard someone chuckling and saw nothing less than an amused Stefan laughing at him.

"What the fuck, Stefan?" He spat angrily.

So he was right when he thought that Elena might have possibly influenced him. Great.

"Is that the way to greet your dear brother after so long?" He said.

"Touché." He sighed heavily, taking off his jacket and running a hand through his now wet hair.

He then took in the sight of Stefan, who was now looking at him with a mix of vulnerability and anger.

His eyes widened a little in shock as he saw how much he'd changed. He wasn't that chubby short kid that he remembered anymore, his body was toned and his face more slender. His hairstyle was changed too and he was just…grown up.

He sighed a little, not quite sure of what to say. Stefan's face was holding so many emotions that he just didn't know where to start from. He could read it in his face that he'd let him down.

"You've changed so much…" He said.

"Same goes for you." He said, smiling a genuine little smile this time. "When I saw you I almost thought that someone broke in and fell asleep on the couch." He said chuckling.

"Well gee Stef, thanks." He said rolling his eyes.

"I honestly needed that." He said as he saw him eyeing the now finished bottle of bourbon. "Where is mom?" He then asked, gulping nervously.

"Not here." Stefan simply replied, going to sit on the armchair.

"I thought you were both coming back." He said. "Oh sorry, I mean you _three_." He then said sternly not able to hold back.

Stefan's tired and emotionless eyes suddenly snapped up again to look at him, a shocked expression on his face. Stefan looked nervous himself and he understood that the argument was going to haunt them forever.

"Damon what are you talking about?" He asked carefully, even though he knew exactly of what he was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Stefan." He spat as he stood up. "I ran into him in Chicago. He told me he's back and that he wants to fix things with you but frankly I expected you to know better. Especially mom." He said, all the rage and betrayal that he felt partially out.

Stefan had a shocked expression on his face. Disbelief and utter confusion written all over it. He could even see the hurt, though.

"I came back three years ago. I saw you two with him playing family time like nothing happened, like everything that he had done was erased." He then said before Stefan could talk. "I just need to know _why_." He then said in a whisper.

His only purpose in coming back was to finally have closure, but it seemed like things were only getting more complicated. All of his feelings, hatred, remorse, and confusion included were all blowing up on his face.

When Stefan started crying silently, he really thought that he'd hit the bottom. This was too much. Why did he always screw up around people he loved?

He was about to speak again when Stefan started explaining.

"He didn't come back, Damon. He came back three years ago begging mom to give him another chance and take him back, but…she didn't. He stayed for a few days but that's it. She _did_ know better Damon. We haven't seen him or heard from him since then." Stefan said.

Stefan started shaking his head, unable to control his resentment as he stood up.

"That's why you never came back or called us? Then why are you back now?" He asked sternly.

His head started hurting all of a sudden and he blamed it partially on the bourbon and to the heavy conversation. He rubbed his temples and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know Stefan you tell me. I come back finding the three of you together and when I ran into him in Chicago a few months ago he told me that he was back." He said.

"Well he lied!" Stefan yelled in frustration, surprising both of them.

Damon started shaking his head, a numb expression on his face.

"I….oh god, that bastard. He lied to me." He said as he kept shaking his head.

"Yeah, he did." Stefan said with a sigh, plopping on the couch next to him. "But why are you back now?" He then asked quietly.

"I wanted closure. After talking to him that's all I could think about. I just wanted you to tell me why. I ran into him casually but he was being his usual smug self, and you know what a good actor he is so I just…I believed him." He said.

"It's okay Damon." Stefan said.

"Not it's not okay. I wasted so much time especially with mom." He said angry with himself. "Where is she anyway?"

"She has decided to stay a few more days with aunt Karen..she wasn't really ready to face you just yet. You know…a lot of things happened." He sighed.

"Oh I'm aware of that." He said sarcastically with a devilish smirk. "Like your friendship with Elena Gilbert. Seriously, Stefan? _Her_ of all people?" He said, his jaw clentched.

Stefan let out another sigh and he could see from the expression on his face that just a bunch of bullshit was going to come out.

"Damon I know you don't believe that but Elena is an amazing person and friend." He said with convinction. "As I said a lot happened and you missed it. Don't come here being all judgy, you don't even know her."

"I've spent four years of my life being in love with that girl and I saw and experienced myself enough to say that she's _not _worth it. You're just making a fool of yourself." He muttered.

Stefan chuckled humorless and narrowed his eyes.

"What is it, are you jealous that I got to know her and spend all these years being her friend and you didn't? Everyone who knows Elena think that she's an awesome girl. Maybe dear brother you're seeing it too and you just don't want to admit it because you're scared of what you might feel again."

His face hardened immediatly as he gulped nervously. No, Stefan was being delusional. If he fell for her then good for him but he wouldn't let Elena or him for that matter fool him again.

"You don't know the first thing about me anymore Stefan. For all you know I could be married with a bunch of kids. So watch your words." He spat as he stood up, quickly putting his jacket on.

"You're so easy to read Damon. You think you're all tough and unbreakable but I beg to differ." He said. "And where are you going anyway?"

"At my apartment. Call your friend Elena to do a little sleepover." He said as he started walking towards the door.

"I thought you wanted to talk…" Stefan said quietly, a flicker of disappointment in his voice.

"Maybe some other time." He replied, not bothering to turn around.

He was feeling guilty for a lot of things and this just wasn't the night to go on a trip to memory lane.

He slammed the door behind him and stepped into the cool air of the night. Taking a deep breath before getting into his car and heading to the Grill.

It was a little more busy than usual and he actually didn't know why he even came here in the first place. He almost did it without thinking. When he looked around and noticed that Elena was nowhere to be found and disappointment filled his being, he understood that it was because of her. His subconscious kept repeating him that.

He took a seat on one of the stools and ordered a shot of whiskey. A few moments later he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around, finding Andie grinning at him.

"Hey there." She said as she sat on the stool next to him. "Twice in a day. I must be lucky." She said laughing her monotonous laugh.

"You are honey." He said smirking mischeviously. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"I'll take a shot of whiskey too." She said winking.

A shot of whiskey turned into five and at the end of the night she was pratically all over him.

"So…my place or yours?" She whispered seductively in his ear, rubbing her thigh just across his hardness.

"Right here." He groaned into her mouth as he dragged her out of the Grill, slamming her against a nearby wall.

The ache in his heart that he'd felt for the whole day after Elena walked out on him and he had the talk with Stefan was still there, just growing if he dared to think about it. He didn't know why and neither he wanted to figure it out. He didn't do guilty, he didn't do weak.

So for the night it was all forgotten as he focused on his new distraction.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Surprise...Ha, not really. I managed to update quickly but don't get too used to it...I had two days off so here it is :P**

**Thank you for all your support and especially your reviews. Please keep them coming and let me know what you think!  
><strong>**Enjoy & please review!**

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><p>Damon woke up with a pounding migraine throbbing in his head. He moaned in annoyance as he slowly got up. He then checked the alarm and saw that it was 12 pm already.<p>

When did he exactly come back last night? He remembered going at the Grill and having some quality time with that Andie chick but that's it. He figured that he'd even drank a little bit too much, considering his headache.

He quickly showered and put on some fresh clothes, just to walk in a half-naked Andie in his room. He jumped a little in surprise and she grinned at him.

"Goodmorning." She said in a dreamy voice.

"Morning." He said a little uncomfortably.

He really hoped that they could avoid the awkwardness. He wasn't searching for anything, and her wearing his shirt and giving him the doe eyes didn't exactly scream one night thing on her part. He didn't even remember her coming here last night.

"So...uhm…" He said scratching his head as he searched for the words. "What happened exactly?"

She chuckled a little as she started dressing.

"You don't remember anything do you? You were pretty wasted so I gave you a ride home. Then one thing led to another and…here I am." She said.

"Oh. I see." He said.

She approached him slowly and bit her lip.

"Wanna grab something to eat at the Grill? You still have your car there anyway." She said in a low voice, her finger running up and down his chest.

God, was she starting to get clingy already? No can do.

"I can't. My brother came back yesterday and I promised I would spend today with him." He quickly invented.

She looked disappointed as she stiffened a little.

"Oh...then I'll see you around I guess. Call me okay?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sure thing." He said smiling tightly.

She gave him a quick kiss and finally headed out.

She looked kinda disappointed and sad for his lack of enthusiasm and convinction, but it really wasn't his problem.

He then remembered that the housekeeper would arrive anytime and he quickly dialed Stefan's number as he took his phone from the nightstand.

"Hello?" Stefan answered right away.

"Hello brother." He said with a smirk, knowing that what he would ask next would annoy him.

"Damon." He said surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I was just wondering if you could come get me? I...kinda forgot my car at the Grill last night." He said.

"Do I want to know?" He said sighing in defeat.

"Not really your concern." He said.

"Okay, I'll come get you now then. Just give me your address." He said.

He gave him the address for his apartment and waited for him in the living room. Stefan gave him a ring on the phone fifteen minutes later and he headed out searching for his car.

He spotted him in a black Audi and quickly reached him.

"You look awful." Stefan said shaking his head as he got in.

"And goodmorning to you too." He said rolling his eyes.

"Goodmorning? It's half past noon." He said.

"Whatever." He said shrugging.

Stefan rolled his eyes shaking his head and he smirked in amusement.

"Where are you going? My car is at the Grill." He said.

"I know. But you're coming home for lunch." Stefan said casually.

"Says _who_?" He said narrowing his eyes.

"Me."

He cursed under his breath and now it was Stefan's turn to laugh amused.

As they stepped into the driveway a few minutes later he couldn't believe his eyes. _Her_ car was there. Did Stefan do this on purpose?

"You've gotta be kidding me." He spat as he got out of the car.

"Not at all." He said calmly. "I planned on seeing Elena for lunch since yesterday, then you asked me to pick you up and basically interfered." He said shrugging.

"Yeah but to get my car back!" He said angrily.

"God, Damon." Stefan growled in annoyance. "Just stop acting like a two years old and come in. She's not gonna bite you."

"Sure…" He muttered as they started walking inside.

As they got in he heard two female voices and he stiffened a little. One was definitely Elena's…the other was a bubbly giggling voice and he immediatly recognized it. Caroline Forbes.

_Great._

"Stefan!" Elena squealed happily when she saw him.

She ran into his arms hugging him tight and he hugged her back. Damon felt a pang in his chest looking at his brother holding Elena and realized that maybe what he said yesterday was right. Maybe he really did want to be in Stefan's place right now.

He wondered how she got in since she hadn't seen Stefan yet, and then remembered the whole family-thingy and that she owned a pair of keys. He had to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

"Gee, you have to cut your hair Stef. This super-hero haircut is not for you." She said giggling.

Stefan elbowed her and faked an offended pout. He then looked at the blonde smiling at them from the counter and yes, it was definitely Caroline...

She caught his eye and her eyes shimmered a little as she checked him out and her mouth fell open. She always used to do that in highschool when she saw someone that she liked, and he almost smirked at the irony.

"That's my brother." Stefan said as he saw Caroline completely in awe.

"Your brother? How many brothers do you have?" She said chuckling a little.

"One." Stefan said a little uncomfortably.

Caroline's eyes widened and this time in shock. The glass of soda that she was holding fell on the ground and the noise made her snap out of it.

"Shit..." She muttered quietly as she started gathering the pieces of glass.

"Let me help you." Stefan immediatly said as he took a rag from the counter.

Damon didn't even bother to comment as his eyes immediatly laid on Elena. He gulped nervously feeling every fiber of his being tense up.

He'd treated her like shit yesterday and he wondered if she had told Stefan. She seemed to be equally nervous as she glanced at him for a few seconds.

If this weird feeling was happening with any other woman…he would probably call it sexual tension. But not with her. Not anymore, he told himself.

"Oh gosh, this is incredibly awkward." Caroline voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Really?" He asked casually raising his brows as he leaned against the door frame.

"Yeah I mean…" She started fumbling.

"Oh blondie, forget it." He said with an amused smirk on his face. "The past is in the past." He said with a shrug.

He smirked devishly and looked at Elena who now seemed pretty pissed off, looking at him in disbelief as she narrowed her eyes.

"I agree." Caroline said with a nod and a sheepish smile.

Elena threw one last glance at him and he kept smiling smugly as they all sat and started eating some pizza.

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><p>She couldn't believe it. Ever since he came back he gave nothing but crap to her, and now he suddenly acted all cool and nice with Caroline? Like nothing happened with her?<p>

She'd even tried to apologize to him and get to know him, but he just wouldn't let her in. She couldn't understand why; but the thought of Damon hating her or not liking her as a person…it bothered her. She should feel indifferent, but she just couldn't.

There was something about him that went further than his cold and snarky self. Sometimes when he wasn't always on guard, she would look into his eyes, seeing his ocean blue eyes so intense and deep. Empty of coldness or malice. He was attracting her like a magnet. And somehow the fact that he was willing to play dumb with Caroline but made her go through hell just annoyed her.

"I'm gonna take some ice-cream." She said as she went into the kitchen.

After lunch they had all headed to the living room chatting as Stefan told them about his aunt and the weeks he spent out of town. Matt joined them an hour later and they were now watching a movie.

Damon, being his usual self she presumed, was sitting on the armchair across the room drinking some kind of alcohol and occasionally glancing out of the window. He looked so thoughtful and lost that she couldn't help but wonder what was going on with him. He and Stefan seemed to go along pretty well considering that they hadn't seen each other in six years, but there was some kind of tension surrounding them...it just didn't give her a positive vibe.

With a sigh she opened the freezer and grinned when she saw that Stefan bought her favorite ice-cream. Häagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice-cream. She closed the freezer and almost jumped when she noticed Damon standing a few inches away from the fridge.

"Boo." He said with his usual cocky smirk.

"You scared me." She said, a hand on her heart.

"Jeez." He muttered rolling his eyes.

She rolled her eyes as well and sighed.

"What do you want?" She said as she started putting some ice-cream in a bowl.

"Ice-cream." He said innocently.

She put the bowl down and sighed in frustration.

"What game are you playing, Damon?" She said as she crossed her arms.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said getting closer.

She stiffened a little and then saw him eyeing her breasts through her tight shirt with an approving smirk. He was just a few inches away from her and his fresh and intoxicating scent was making her knees almost buckle.

She blushed as her face grew hard in frustration at his bluntness.

"Chin up." She said firmly as she took his chin in her hand and made him look into her eyes.

He seemed surprised by the action as his blue eyes widened a little. Her hand immediatly fell and her heart started beating way too fast. He was looking at her in a way that she couldn't quite describe, with _those _eyes, and it was doing very weird things to her lower parts.

His face grew darker as he seemed to snap out of his morbid self.

"Don't you have that baby brother of yours and your mommy and daddy to stay with? How come you're always in _my_ house? Clingy much?" He suddenly asked harshly.

She flinched instantly at his stern words as her heart started beating furiously but now for completely different reasons. She felt tears forming in her eyes as her jaw clenthced.

Without thinking, she slapped him hard.

"You're an asshole." She spat out angrily, her voice slightly trembling from the tears that she was holding.

She ran out of the house, letting all the tears of rage that she was holding stream down her face. It was still a touching argument for her, and even though Damon probably didn't know about her parents, she had reacted from instinct. People barely talked about it normally with her knowing how much it still hurt, and that idiot thought that he could come and mess with her feelings like that?

She got into her car and tried to calm down, taking some deep breaths as she wiped her tears away.

Oh, how she wished that she had her _mommy _and _daddy_ to spend her days with. To come back home and not find it empty and quiet. How she wished that her baby brother didn't have to go through all of this because of her.

She sped off quickly, overhelmed by feelings and thoughts that she hadn't let herself feel in a long time.

Her face was still wet and her eyes puffy as she got home. She fumbled with her keys but just then Jeremy opened the front door, looking ready to leave.

"Elena." He said surprised.

"Hey Jer." She said smiling slightly, not making eye-contact.

As always though, he knew better than that. He quickly got closer with a worried look on his face.

"Have you been crying?" He asked immediatly, his hands on her shoulders.

"What? No. I just…I heard a sad story at the radio and I got all emotional. No big deal." She said trying to shift out a laugh.

"Bullshit." He said. "What happened? Do I have to kick someone's ass?"

She shook her head gently, smiling at him.

"No, just hug me." She said as she wrapped him in a tight hug.

That was it. Jeremy was her family, he was the most important person in her life and she didn't know what she would do if she lost him too.

"I know I don't tell you this often but I really love you Jeremy. I'm so proud to be your sister." She said as she stepped out of his embrace to look at him in the eyes. "Mom and dad would be proud too."

"I love you too Lena. I'm the one who's lucky to have such a cool sis." He said smiling. "And you know that they would be proud of you too, a lot."

"I know, JerBear." She said chuckling as she remembered his old nickname.

"Stop it." He said rolling his eyes as he blushed, running a hand through his brown hair. "No one has called me that in years."

She giggled a little but he grew serious again.

"Seriously though…did something happen? What's up with all this emotional stuff all of a sudden?" He said suspiciously.

"It's nothing, really. I just got emotional." She said with a shrug. "Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

He hugged her again and she pulled back after a few moments, wiping at her face that was still a mess.

"Where were you going anyway? You were heading out when I arrived." She said as she stepped inside, leaning against the door frame of the front door.

"I was gonna meet up with Ric. He wants to talk about some colleges around here, since I'm not planning on going back to Europe." He said shrugging.

Elena immediatly felt a burst of happiness inside of her and smiled broadly at him, happy to know that he was thinking about colleges and studying. Especially here.

"That's great Jer. If you come up with something with Ric then let me know, okay?" She said.

"Of course. But are you sure you don't want me to stay with you? You seemed upset…" He said quietly.

"I'm fine, you go and we'll catch up later." She said with a nod.

He nodded back and headed towards his car, which was actually Jenna's old car that he'd always hated with passion.

She turned on the lights and went upstairs, wiping off her messy make-up and changing in comfy clothes. She then realized that she hadn't told anything to Stefan or Caroline and that they would probably wondering where she was right now. Although at the moment she really couldn't bring herself to care as she laid on her bed and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to have frozen as he brought his hand to his hurting cheek, resting it just where she hit him with which seemed to be with all the anger that she had inside of her.<p>

If it was under any other circumstance, he would have let it go and be content knowing that he drove her off the edge just like she did with him. But what left him speechless and confused was that she snapped right after he made a comment about family. _Her_ family.

He immediatly felt both horrified and mortified at the same time realizing that he'd probably touched a very open wound. Of all the times he'd acted cockily and teased her, she never had this same reaction. Hell, he didn't like her, but it didn't mean that he purposely wanted to be _that_ cruel.

He looked at the bowl that she'd just filled with chocolate ice-cream and sighed. He really screwed up. And he had the feeling that Stefan would be really mad once he found out.

"Where's Elena?" He asked just then as he entered the kitchen, looking a little bit confused.

"I…" Damon started, not quite finding the words. Crap. "I might have exaggerrated a little."

"What do you mean?" Stefan immediatly asked in a low tone, approaching him.

"I was messing with her and she suddenly snapped when I made a joke about her parents…I honestly didn't mean to." He said sincerely.

Stefan stiffened a little as his face grew mad and upset.

"Damn it, Damon." He muttered angrily. "Can't you just fucking behave?"

He flinched in surprise as he heard Stefan cursing. He barely did that.

"I didn't do it on purpose for Christ's sake. I'm not that low." He spat.

Stefan sighed quietly bringing his hands to his cinder blonde hair, ruffling it in frustration as he took a seat. Damon joined him hesitantly and he started explaining right away.

"Her parents…they died in a car accident five years ago." He murmured quietly. "She was in the accident too."

Damon's eyes widened in shock as he heard the story, a pang of hurt in his chest as he realized what she'd been through and how much she'd lost. And the pain in Stefan's voice...he must really care about Elena.

"It's really not my business to get too much into it since Elena doesn't like to talk about it. But that's still an open wound for her, Damon. A big one. And she almost died in there too…not to mention all the issues that she got with her brother after it. That _you_ don't even know about." He said bitterly.

He suddenly felt like shit as remorse and guiltiness started filling his being. He realized that perhaps he'd judged who she was too fast, still holding onto the past and who she _was_. Stefan was right. He had missed years and a lot of things happened. Everyone moved on and changed, someone in the bad…and someone in the good.

He would take those words back if he could. He really would, but as he realized that he couldn't do anything about it, he knew that the only thing he could try to do was fixing it somehow.

"You're right." He admitted, looking at Stefan in the eyes. "I don't know what she's been through. And honestly, I can't promise you to act all nice with her or to be her friend but…I can try not to hate her. You think I could talk to her?"

Stefan's eyes widened in surprise at his words and he seemed hesitant for a moment.

"Maybe it's better if I talk to her, I mean…" He started but Damon cut him off.

"No Stefan. I need to make it up by myself." He said.

"Why?" Stefan asked narrowing his eyes.

"I feel like I need to let go." He replied simply, shrugging.

Stefan eyed him for a few seconds and then gave him Elena's address, begging him to not screw up twice in a day.

He headed out of the Boarding House, taking a few minutes outside to prepare himself before he took off to Elena's house.

Her house seemed to be nice and ordinary from the outside. He immediatly looked at the driveway and noticed that her car was there. So she was home…

He took a deep breath and headed out of the car, suddenly feeling tense and a little giddy. He kept telling himself that it was because he was ashamed of what happened and that he had to apologize, thing that he wasn't very good at and that he didn't do often…but why did he feel like it was for completely different reasons? You're here because you acted like a dick and you need to put your shit together, annoying as it is she's still your brother's bestfriend, he told himself. He smoothed down his hair a little and rang at her doorbell.

He waited a couple of minutes and then rang again as he grew impatient. What if she'd seen him from the window and decided to ignore him? No, now he was here, and he wouldn't go away before at least _trying_ to talk to her. He rang again and again knowing full well that he was likely being rude but he really didn't care.

He heard some noises from the inside and in a few seconds the door flew open.

"There was no need to…" Elena started saying annoyed. She then looked up at him and her doe eyes grew wide as she saw him standing there.

She was wearing a robe, her long chestnut hair kind of messy.

"Ice-cream?" He said hesitantly with a sheepish almost cute smile as he held up the bag with that chocolate ice-cream that she was going to eat earlier.

He didn't remember if it was with peneat butter or just with chocolate so be bought both on his way here.

She huffed quietly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Are you actually being serious? What do you want Damon? I've had enough of you for one day." She said annoyed and sternly as she eyed him warily, holding the door ready to close it.

He sighed a little. "I'm taking up that offer of talking with you. Is it still valid?" He said, referring to their yesterday's conversation.

She seemed touched and surprised, her expression thougtful as her eyes bore into his.

He froze a little as he realized that maybe, and just maybe, he really wasn't ready to let go.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Wow guys, thank you so much for all your support and kind words. You're the best. :)**

**I hope you'll like this chapter and please let me know what you think. I love your reviews!**

**Enjoy... ;)**

* * *

><p>She kept staring at him in awe and he didn't know how to handle the moment. She was speechless and so was he.<p>

He'd decided to come over only to apologize, he owed it to her. But somehow he ended up telling her that he came to take her offer to talk and he couldn't believe that he actually did say that.

He was falling for the one thing he'd promised himself not to fall for. Never again. Though here he was with a box of ice-cream in his hands almost begging her silently to let him in.

Her face relaxed and she nodded a little, still looking warily.

"Fine." She said sighing, letting him in.

From the corner of his eye he saw her sheepishly smiling happily and he felt accomplished.

"Nice house." He told her as he looked around.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

It was cozy and very ordinary. You could somehow feel that it was a lived house, full of memories and past in it. On the wall near the stairs hanged a lot of pictures, of a man and a woman who he presumed were her parents especially. He suddenly grew tense as he remembered why he was there in the first place.

He turned around to look at her, finding himself in a loss of words.

"Look…" He started. "I came here to apologize. I didn't know about your parents…I'm really sorry about that Elena. I didn't mean to upset you." He said sincerely.

His eyes were holding real empathy, and not fake pitiness like most people gave her. Maybe that was why she didn't like to open up about the argument. Because she'd never actually found someone who empathized with her like Damon seemed to be doing at the moment.

"Thank you." She said with a slight smile. "And I'm sorry about the slap. I didn't mean to snap like that." She said biting her bottom lip.

"It's okay." He said chuckling a little.

"So…you took ice-cream?" She asked incredulous as she raised her eyebrows.

"I did." He nodded. "I actually bought the same one you were going to eat there…kinda." He said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean kinda?" She said as she led him into the kitchen, taking two spoons.

"Well I didn't remember if it was just chocolate or chocolate with peanut butter so I took both." He said shrugging.

She smiled broadly and then chuckled a little.

"I'll take the peanut butter one." She said as she took it from the envelope bag.

She opened it and took a seat on one of the stools as she immediatly started eating it. She then met Damon's eyes who was looking at her sort of amused.

"What?" She said with her mouth full of ice-cream. "It was going to melt. You should eat yours too." She said shrugging.

"I'm not eating ice-cream." He said with a scoff as he put the other little confection in the freezer. "It's all yours."

"What do you have against ice-cream?" She said rolling her eyes. "Besides you _have_ to eat it…or I won't talk to you." She then said smugly, holding her head up.

"And you think I would care because?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"Fine, be that way. But I would have really liked sharing it with you." She huffed quietly looking disappointed.

It was such a silly thing, but still his eyes lit up a little at her words. It had been a long time since he didn't have a simple and genuine moment like this, and the fact that she wanted to talk to him or even do little things like this almost flattered him. He realized that he was probably staring at her with a goofy grin and he immediatly shrugged it off.

What the hell was he doing? Apologizing and talking to her, _yes_. Fantasizing about past things that would never happen, _no_. Just because he was willing to give her a chance as a person and not being blinded by his past hatred it didn't mean that he would let himself be so foolish again.

With a sigh he took his leather jacket off, placing it on a stool. He saw Elena eyeing him strangely and when he realized that the first two buttons of his black shirt were unbottoned he smiled a cocky smile as he realized that it was probably lust. How ironic was that? Six years ago he would have paid gold to be at Elena Gilbert's freaking place. Alone. Together. With her giving him lusty looks. Now though he was here because he'd acted like a jackass and because he knew it was the right thing to do; nothing more, nothing less.

He took the ice-cream and the spoon that she'd left on the counter and Elena smiled knowingly.

"What?" He spat rolling his eyes.

"Nothing." She replied dumbly, the little knowing smile still there.

They ate quietly for a few minutes, and he found himself feeling quite comfortable around her, despite of what he thought. It was a weird and yet good feeling.

"So…" He started somehow awkwardly. "If you don't want to talk about what happened it's fine with me." He said honestly.

He had after all brought up the argument of her parents and everything else, and he truly didn't want her to feel obligated to tell him anything just because they got into it.

"I...I really don't want to." She said sighing quietly. "Maybe someday." She then said after a few moments with a slight smile.

"What about you? I mean..why did you decide to come back now? Always if you want to tell I mean you don't have to..." She started.

"It's okay." He quickly said. "I'm pretty sure you've met Giuseppe, right?"

"Your and Stefan's father." She acknoweledged with a nod.

"Stefan's." He corrected.

She looked at him intently as her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh…" She started, not quite finding the words.

"I guess Stefan doesn't really tell you everything." He said with a smirk.

"No, I mean…I know who he is but Stefan and Maria barely talk about him. I'm surprised that you brought him up." She said.

"Yeah…" He said quietly as he started playing with the spoon in the bowl of ice-cream.

"Hey." She quickly said, placing her hand on his arm. "You don't have to talk about him if you don't feel like to. I'm just glad that you're opening up to me a little to be honest." She said sincerely, a shy smile on her face.

He stared at her for a few seconds as her warm hand rested on his shoulder. He bored his ocean blue eyes into her brown doe ones for a few moments and then shifted making her arm fall.

She seemed to snap out of the moment too as she stiffened a little and took their empty bowls to the sink.

"So you came back because of him? Or did you know that he left years ago?" She said as she leaned against the counter near his stool.

He started chuckling quietly and she looked at him in confusion.

"What's so funny?" She said shaking her head, starting to feel a little embarassed and confused.

He jumped off the stool and got closer. Her heart immediatly started doing weird things as it often happened when she was near him, she noticed.

"You've got a little…" He said as with his thumb he softly caressed the side of her mouth, cleaning off the leftover peanut butter there.

She almost melted at the contact as goose-bumps started taking form in her body. His eyes shimmered a little as he gazed at her and she was left speechless once again.

He then quickly licked the ice-cream off his finger and she had to keep herself from moaning…it looked so sexual. _He_ looked sexual.

"No, by the way." He said.

"No what?" She quickly asked, her heart beating faster as she thought that maybe he understood the effect that he was having on her.

"I didn't know that he left for good. I came back because I ran into him in Chicago a few months ago and….he told me some things that I couldn't stop thinking about. I actually thought that I was going to find him here." He confessed as he started walking towards the door.

"Oh...I get it." She said as she walked him to the door. "Damon?" She then called hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He said as he turned to look at her.

"I…thanks, for giving me a chance. It really means a lot to me and for what is worth..I want you to know that I'm not the person that you used to know anymore." She said.

"I'm starting to see that." He said as he nodded a little.

She smiled as her eyes lit up a little and as he was about to walk out, he turned around again.

"Can I ask you something?" He said, a smirk on his face.

Oh-oh, she thought. That smirk usually didn't bring good things.

"Sure…" She said warily, narrowing her eyes a little.

"Are you and Stefan friends, or friends-_friends_?" He asked as his smirk grew bigger.

She gasped as she understood the meaning of his words and she swatted him playfully.

"Not that it's your business anyway, but no. We're just friends. No benefits." She said crossing her arms as she blushed.

"Mmhm..." He hummed quietly as he did that eye-thing of his.

"Go away, Damon." She said rolling her eyes as she pushed him out.

"Goodnight Elena." He said as he walked away.

"Goodnight…and thank you for the ice-cream!" She said with a chuckle.

He smirked in return and off he went.

* * *

><p>She closed the door behind her and smiled happily. She couldn't believe her eyes when she'd found him out of her door. He actually came here to apologize and be nice to her. Was that really Damon or was he his good twin?<p>

She couldn't stop thinking about how comfortable she'd found herself being around him. If he put his walls down he was actually an awesome person. How did she miss that six years ago? She cursed herself for having been so blind and especially stupid. Maybe some things would have gone completely different.

She headed up the stairs going into her room. As she looked in the mirror she noticed how she couldn't stop smiling and it made her feel great.

It was the first time in a long time that she'd felt _this_ great. How was that even possibile? She had Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie…all her friends were always so good to her and yet one night with Damon managed to make her feel this way. Her smile faded a little as she remembered that he actually didn't like her, thing that he had even told her in her face. What if tonight was all an act? What if it was Stefan who forced him to come over here and apologize? The possibilities were many and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. Most of all she had to stop fantasizing about something that would most likely never happen. He would be gone in a few weeks anyway. As soon as Maria was back and he got a chance to fix things with his mother, he would go back to Chicago.

She sighed sadly as she got back downstairs to lock the door and turn off the lights. As she walked into the kitchen, she noticed Damon's leather jacket on the stool and she smiled dreamily. That leather jacket seemed to be his baby. He always had it with him.

She took it from the stool and gently brought it to her face, inhaling his scent. She almost purred and hugged it to her body and she jumped a little when she felt a loud vibration coming from the pocket.

She took his phone without thinking and as she saw the message on the screen all her silly, delusional, thoughts shattered suddenly and this time completely.

It was Andie. Elena felt like she wanted to pull all her hair out and start kicking something as she read the text.

_Last night was amazing. I miss you already baby. -_

She couldn't quite explain what she felt after seeing it. Disappointment? Annoyance? All she knew was that she felt defeated.

She sighed a little and put his phone back in the pocket of the jacket, going to wait for him in the living room guessing that he'd come back as soon as he realized that he forgot his stuff.

She couldn't believe that that bratty skank managed to get into his life. And into his pants. All of her screamed fakeness and she wondered if she had a fake vagina too. How could Jenna even be friend with that nuisance?

As she predicted, five minutes later someone rang at the doorbell and as she peeked through the window she saw that it was Damon.

She took a deep breath managing not to make him see that she was upset and quickly opened the door.

"Forgot something?" She said as she held up his jacket.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He said as she handed it to him. "I realized it as soon as I got home."

He put it on and she managed a smile.

"No problem." She said quickly. "Goodbye, Damon."

"Bye…" He said sounding a little confused.

She closed the door and let out a frustrated sigh, hoping that he didn't notice her weird mood.

It was indeed weird because she couldn't figure out herself what was happening. Boy, if she was moody.

She thought about waiting for Jeremy to come back but she was too stressed out and tired. As she crawled into bed she remembered that she didn't turn on her phone again and she immediatly did as she realized that Stefan and Caroline had probably called her tons of times.

Strangely there were no missed calls from Stefan, and she guessed that it was because he already knew everything. Caroline on the other hand gave her ten calls and left a message.

She called her back and realized that she would probably be rambling as soon as she answered.

"Elena?" She answered right away, her voice concerned.

"Hey Care. I'm sorry I didn't pick up your calls…long story short." She tried to shrug it off.

"I was worried. Stefan told me you weren't feeling well. Are you okay now? Do you want me to come over?" She said.

Even though Stefan seemed to have covered for her she didn't want to lie to Caroline. They always told each other everything and she really needed someone to talk to.

"Can you talk right now?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, why?"

"Well it didn't exactly go like Stefan told you. I…I went home because I was upset. Damon pissed me off." She explained.

"Say _what_? Damon as in Stefan's brother? What did he tell you?" She asked surprised.

"He made a joke about my parents, but he didn't mean to. He didn't even know about it. He's kinda been an ass to me ever since he came back but…" She started but Caroline cut her off.

"Hold on a second, you knew that he was back? How come you didn't tell me anything? And you had every right to be upset, honey. I hope you smacked him hard because if I was there I would have done it for you." She said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I did." Elena said with a proud smile. "And yeah…he's come back for a while now. I didn't tell you because I didn't feel comfortable about it. As I told you we haven't been on good terms."

"Mmh, I see." Caroline said thoughtfully. "Well he kinda has every right to be a little pissed at us…don't you think?"

"Totally." Elena said sincerely with a sigh.

He had every right to, and how she regretted giving him reasons to be

"By the way have you seen how hot he is? Jeez Elena, he's like an Adonis! Tell me again why we had to be such bitches in highschool." Caroline said.

"I don't know Care. We were kinda morons indeed." Elena admitted shifting a laugh.

"Well...you can always make it up now. I mean you're single, he's single..you two would be _so_ hot together." She said almost excitedly.

"Don't hold your breath. He doesn't even like me that way, you know. And I really don't think that he's single." She said defeatedly.

"No!" Caroline almost whined. "What makes you think so?"

"He's, uhm..seeing that Andie Starr chick. The reporter." Elena said somehow bitterly.

"No freaking way." Caroline spat with a gasp. "The Action News one? Are you serious? That girl's a snake. I always hated her guts." She scoffed.

"He met her at Jenna's dinner party. She was so annoying you don't even know." Elena said rolling her eyes.

"Oh I hear you, honey. I always change channel when she's on screen." Caroline said laughing as Elena laughed with her.

She was almost about to tell Caroline about Damon coming over and apologizing but she decided against it. She would probably get excited and think that he liked her or something but she knew better. Might as well keep it to herself.

"I have to go now Care. I have an early shift at the Grill tomorrow." She said sighing. "I'll see you there though right?"

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch then. 'Night Lena."

"Goodnight." She said quietly as she hang up.

She drifted off to sleep trying not to think about the disappointment that was still very much there.

* * *

><p>The Grill was pretty busy in the morning but hopefully as Caroline was going to come for lunch it would quieten a little.<p>

Caroline was almost always busy in the morning too as she went to school for architeture, but they hang out a lot in here and Elena was glad of it. With Bonnie staying at her dad's for a while, Caroline and Stefan were the only true friends that she had left.

Her eyes suddenly lit up as she saw Damon entering. He had just managed to make her boring and ordinary morning worth it.

She waved at him a little hoping that he would return it and when he did she smiled widely.

"What's up?" He asked as he leaned against the counter, ordering a bourbon to another waitress.

"Seriously? Bourbon at 1 pm?" She asked amused as she raised an eyebrow.

"It's my pre-lunch appetizer." He said shrugging casually.

She giggled a little shaking her head and he smiled at her.

"Stefan's here too by the way. Little fucker didn't buy anything to eat so the Grill it is, since it seems to be the only freaking place in this town." He said with a roll of eyes.

She was about to reply when she saw Stefan waving at her. She waved back and he walked over taking a seat near Damon's stool.

"Hey El." He said as he leaned closer to kiss her on the cheek.

She noticed Damon turning his head around at Stefan's gesture and for just one moment she thought that he seemed annoyed.

Luckily Stefan avoided the awkwardness by asking about last night and she was glad of it. He did know her well so he would probably give her the third degree in private.

"So are you guys taking a table?" She asked.

"Yup. I'll be here pretty much everyday since I really don't feel like cooking and Stefan hasn't got any groceries at the Boarding House." He said rolling his eyes.

"What are you two-years old?" Stefan scoffed. "You can buy things by yourself, you know."

"How come you don't want to cook? That lasagna that you made at Jenna's was exquisite." She said.

"I did it to impress her." He whispered doing that eye-thing of his.

She was so taken by Damon and Stefan teasing each other that she didn't see someone approaching them silently putting her hands in front of Damon's eyes.

Elena's smile immediatly fell as she saw her. Andie was grinning amused as she kept Damon guessing.

"What the –" He started saying annoyed when she cut him off with a kiss.

Elena felt a pang in her chest at the scene and wished that the little bitch could disappear already. Stefan looked at them raising his eyebrows in surprise and giving her a smiling amused face and she forced a smile.

"Surprise." Andie said as she wrapped her arms around Damon's waist.

"Andie." He acknoweledged somehow uncomfortably and confused as much as she and Stefan seemed to be.

"Who else?" She said mischeviously with a wink.

That's it, Elena thought. I'm going to throw up now.

She then eyed Stefan and pomped her chest a little, holding her head up as she threw her hair behind her shoulder.

"I'm Andie. Damon's…friend." She said with her usual fake smile as she shook Stefan's hand.

"I'm Stefan, Damon's brother. Nice to meet you Andie." He said politely.

Elena knew Stefan far too much and she could see that he didn't have a good feeling about the girl too. Why couldn't Damon see it? But most of all, why did she so desperately wanted him to?

He seemed to be very uncomfortable and irritated though and she wondered if she was probably just imagining it.

"Well I…better get back to the kitchen. I'll leave you guys alone." She said smiling.

"Be careful not to burn anything in there." Andie said in her whiny voice as her hold on Damon's waist tightened.

"Don't worry about that." Elena replied quickly as she smiled fakely back at her. "Oh and you should probably take that little scarf of yours off. It's really hot in here…wouldn't want you to _burn_ from it." She said as she walked away.

She smirked smugly as she saw Andie's priceless face. Oh how she liked still being the bitch around town sometimes.

She managed to find something to do in the kitchen for a few minutes to avoid them and as she returned at the bar she noticed that they'd luckily gone to one of the boots. That clingly monkey of Andie of course with them.

"Elena Gilbert." She heard the smooth voice calling.

She turned around and saw Mason Lockwood leaning against the counter, smiling at her.

"Mason." She acknoweledged. "Long time no see."

"Indeed." He said nodding. "I missed you though. I'm just gonna ask you bluntly; what do you say if we go out one of these days? Always if a pretty little thing like you is still available."

What to do? Mason wasn't bad, he'd actually always been quite nice to her. He was a Lockwood but he was nothing like Tyler.

He was hot, nice, an easy distraction…but why the thought didn't appeal her that much?

As she looked over at Damon and Stefan's table and saw Andie being all over Damon she made her decision. This sort of crush that she was developing for Damon Salvatore had to end now.

"I would love to." She said as he grinned happily.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: As always I can't thank you enough for your alerts, favorites, and especially reviews! I love reading what you think and they really make my day so keep them coming. :)**

**In this chapter you can see that things are definitely developing in all the ways...good and bad, maybe. I'll just tell you that. ;)**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**

* * *

><p>Elena was finishing to get ready for her date with Mason Lockwood, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. He travelled a lot from Mystic Falls to Florida due to his job and his passion for surf, but those few times when he came home they used to hang out from time to time.<p>

This time though his staying seemed to be permanent and that's why he officially asked her out. It had been a long time since she'd been on a real first date and she didn't know if she was ready. What if she screwed up? What if she made herself ridiculous in front of him? Somehow it didn't feel right and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

She was wearing a black tight dress with long sleeves, her hair up in a high pony-tail and long earrings and heels.

Around her neck hanged her mother's necklace and she stroked it fondly.

Just then her phone started ringing and she sighed in relief when she saw that it was just Stefan.

"Hey." She answered as she put eye-liner on.

"Getting ready for your big date?" Damon asked with his snarky tone.

She gasped in surprise when she heard his voice and she suddenly felt butterflies all over her stomach. Why was she happy that it was Damon and not Stefan? What was happening to her? And most of all _why_ did she feel those butterflies?

"Yes, Damon." She said pretending to be annoyed. "What do you want? Why are you calling from Stefan's phone?"

"My credit is over." He replied nonchalantly.

"Mmh, spending a little too much time on the phone with _Andie_?" She said and just then she realized how bitterly it came out.

"Hell no." He said with a snort. "I do have a job, you know. I call. They pick up. Rings a bell?" He replied sarcastically.

"Whatever, you still haven't answered my question. What do you want?" She asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Annoying you." He said.

"Excuse me?" She said scoffing.

She heard him chuckling his devishly laugh and she stomped her foot. He was unbelievable.

"Goodbye Damon." She said as she was about to end the call.

"Oh come on, don't be so fussy." He said. "Why don't you ditch your date and come over here hanging out with Stefan…and _me_?" He said in a mischevious voice.

For just one second she thought about saying yes and she mentally slapped herself for it. She really did want to go out with Mason. He was hot and he was nice with her. Most of all he was going to be a good distraction…especially to pull her out of her 'crushing on Damon'.

"You have your girlfriend Andie for that. Call her." She quickly replied before hanging up.

She bit her lip as she realized that maybe she'd been somehow a little too rude. She didn't have time to think about it though as she suddenly heard the doorbell ringing.

She pulled her brown leather jacket on and took her purse, heading downstairs.

She took a deep breath before opening the door and her expression was of utter shock when she opened it.

Instead of finding Mason, she was currently faced with a smirking Damon in front of her.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She spat rolling her eyes.

"So nice to see you too, Elena." He said still smirking as he entered.

"Oh sure, come in, make yourself at home!" She said sarcastically.

He took a sit on the couch in the living room and started playing with something he found on the table.

Elena closed the door with a sigh and went to sit next to him.

She took the baseball ball he was playing with from his hand and ignored the tingles that she felt when she made contact with his hands.

"What's up? Just spill it, Damon." She urged.

"I don't like that Lockwood guy." He said knitting his eyebrows with a thoughtful expression.

She actually laughed out loud and shook her head at him.

"You came here just to tell me that you don't like Mason? Are you serious Damon?"

"Of course not." He said rolling his eyes. "I need to talk to you about something."

She suddenly looked into his eyes, surprise written all over her face. She hoped it was something positive because all of a sudden a feel of pride hit her. He was starting to trust her, no matter what she subject was about.

"About what?" She asked.

"My mother." He said as he gulped nervously a little.

"Oh." She just managed to say as her eyes widened a little in shock.

It was such a touchy and important matter for him; she couldn't believe that he was going to talk about it with her.

"Don't worry I won't keep you too long." He said as he smiled slightly.

He seemed so vulnerable and nervous all of a sudden that she just wanted to hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be okay. And she would have, if it was any other person. But with Damon physical contact seemed to be a problem and she couldn't figure out why.

"She's coming back on Wednesday. And uhm…I really don't feel comfortable talking about it with Stefan, but since I know you're close to her too I thought that maybe you could help me." He said.

"Sure." She immediatly said as she unconciously reached to place her hand on his arm.

"Does she talk about me often?" He asked.

"Every now and then." She said with a shrug. "I think that it probably hurts her to talk about you when she she hasn't heard from you in years. But she loves you so much, Damon. I can see it in her eyes and from the adoration in her voice."

"I…I just missed so much time. Do you think that she will ever forgive me?" He asked just above a whisper, his eyes stripped in nothing but vulnerability and insecurity.

"Of course she will. It may take her a while to understad why you just took off maybe, but you're her son. She will be nothing but happy to finally have you back." She said giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you Elena." He said sincerely, pronouncing her name like a caress.

She blinked a couple of times feeling some kind of dizziness and smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry if I bothered you. But I really didn't want to talk about it on the phone. To be honest it went better than I thought it would." He said with an embarassed chuckle.

"Well sometimes people can surprise you." She whispered holding his gaze.

He stared at her intently as he caught the double meaning and just when he was about to reply they were interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"This is probably Mason." She said as she cleared her throat a little.

"I would just get out from the back door but he's probably seen my car. Ops." He said.

"It's not like we have something to hide, Damon." She said rolling her eyes.

He chuckled a little and as she went to open the door he suddenly took her arm stopping her in her tracks.

"You look gorgeous, by the way." He said smiling probably the only genuine smile she'd ever seen him wear.

"Thanks." She managed to say as her heartbeat increased rapidly and those damn butterflies came back in her stomach.

She finally opened the door finding Mason grinning at her with a bouquet of orange tulips. They weren't one of her favorite flowers but she appreciated the gesture.

"Hello, sweetheart." He said as he handed her the flowers.

"Mason. Hi." She said smiling back. "Thanks for these…they're awesome."

"Hey of whose that car in your driveway?" He asked knotting his eyebrows.

"Mine." Damon said as he walked towards Mason with his usual cocky smirk. "Damon Salvatore." He said as he shook his hand.

"Mason Lockwood." Mason said shaking his hand back, looking a little confused as he looked between Damon and Elena.

"He's Stefan's brother and he was just leaving." Elena said the last words a little bit more firmly as Damon stood there with his smug irritating smirk.

"I'm gonna put the flowers in a vase. I'll be right back." Elena said as she headed towards the kitchen.

Mason kept staring at Damon somehow annoyed and confused and he glared at him, getting closer.

"Be a gentleman, or I'm going to kick your ass." Damon said calmly but firmly as he patted his shoulder.

Just then Elena came back and he smiled at them.

"Have a great night guys." He said heading outside.

Elena looked at him as he walked towards his car and then at Mason who looked a little frightened and she mentally rolled her eyes realizing that Damon had probably annoyed him with one of his usual snarky remarks.

"So…" Mason said sighing a little as they headed to his car. "You look gorgeous, Elena."

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

She noticed that he'd used the same words as Damon, and it hit her immediatly how utterly different her reaction was.

With Damon she had blushed and felt butterflies all over her stomach, knowing that _he_ thought she was gorgeous. With Mason even though she was flattered she was just thanking him as she would thank a friend like Stefan. It did nothing to her.

They finally drove off and as Mason started chatting and asking her how her day had been, she forced herself to stop comparing or thinking about Damon at all. She was out with Mason. She had to focus her attention on him…or at least trying to.

Damon-land was forbidden for the time being.

* * *

><p>Damon pulled off the Boarding House driveway and headed inside, slamming the door shut roughly.<p>

"Hey!" Stefan immediatly appeared from the kitchen with a scolding look. "Would you mind not being such a caveman?"

"Here's your phone." Damon said annoyed as he handed him his phone.

He went into the parlor, immediatly pouring himself a glass of scotch. His mood had drastically changed since he saw that Mason dude crossing Elena's front door. He just had a bad feeling about the guy. He kept wondering where he would bring her tonight, what would they tell each other, and especially what they would do later. He had the urge to be there and spy on them during all the time. What was wrong with him?

"Have you talked to Elena? And anyway I don't know why you had to ask her the same things you could be asking to me." Stefan said as he threw himself in the armchair.

"You're all judgey and annoying. I just didn't feel like it." He said with a shrug as he finished his drink.

"Always so sweet, my big brother." Stefan said sarcastically.

"Get used to it." Damon said with a grimace.

Stefan rolled his eyes and sighed a little.

"Oh by the way I had to turn your phone off. It kept ringing." He then said with an annoyed huff.

"Wasn't it in charge?" Damon asked as he refilled his glass.

"Yeah here in the parlor but I'm telling you it kept ringing every minute."

"Weird." He said knotting his eyebrows as he stood up to pick it up.

He turned it on and his eyes widened in shock at the thirty missed calls. What the hell?

"Oh for _fuck's_ sake." He spat angrily as he threw his arms up when he saw from who they were coming from.

"What happened?" Stefan asked.

"Andie happened." He muttered as he threw the phone on the couch.

"That chick that was basically drooling all over you the other day at the Grill?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. That one. I knew that it was gonna bite me in the ass. Why do I always pick the psychos?" He said sighing and shaking his head in frustration as he deleted all the missed calls.

Stefan kept laughing at him and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe you're not looking in the right direction…" Stefan said casually.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He scoffed.

"I'm just saying." Stefan said with a shrug.

"What about you?" Damon asked.

"What about me what?"

"A girlfriend? Someone special?" Damon said with his devilish smirk.

"No one really." Stefan said playing dumb.

"Oh come on Saint Steffy." He said with a scoff. "Just tell already."

"Well there's someone actually…" He said tentatively.

Damon gave him an expectant look and he finally confessed.

"It's Elena's co-worker at the Grill, alright?" He finally spilled. "Rebekah."

Damon grew thoughtful for a few moments as he tried to remember her.

"Nope. I don't remember her." He said out loud.

"Mmm maybe that's because you only have eyes for Elena." Stefan said with a knowing smirk.

"What?" He spat, his eyes wide in shock at Stefan's words.

"Hey relax I was just kidding. Even if actually she seems to be…no whatever." He finished shrugging it off with a chuckle.

"She seems to be what?" Damon asked narrowing his eyes.

Stefan kept playing dumb as he played with his phone. "Oh did you run into Mason while you were at her place?" He said trying to change argument.

"She seems to be _what_, Stefan?" He urged.

"Nothing, really…I just had a chat with Caroline yesterday and she told me some things. That's it." He said.

"What kind of things?" Damon found himself asking.

"Elena is my bestfriend, I'm not going to talk behind her back. I'm not Caroline who gossips even with her cat." He said.

"But I'm your brother. Bros before hoes?" He asked tentatively.

"Nope. Knock it off Damon you won't get a word from me." Stefan said.

"You're an ass. You hinted to whatever it is and now you won't tell me anything. Have I ever told you just how annoying you are?" He spat as he stood up.

"Everyday dear brother. I'm just staying true to your words." Stefan said with a smug smile as he got up and headed upstairs.

He huffed and rolled his eyes at Stefan's stubborness but a Chesire grin appeared on his face when he noticed his phone on the armchair.

He then heard Stefan moving upstairs and he immediatly went to pick his phone, copying Caroline's number from his phone to his.

"I'm going out with...Andie. See you later or tomorrow." He shouted as he put his leather jacket on.

"Okay. Bye." Stefan shouted back.

Now all he had to do was to put some credit on that damn phone and call blondie.

She seemed so surprised and shy when he called that he just wanted to roll his eyes during the whole call. She kept giggling and blabling but luckily he cut it short.

He told her to meet him at the Grill at 9 pm and even though she seemed to be more than a little surprised she agreed. She was already there anyway since her boyfriend Matt worked there.

He slid into a seat and looked around a little searching for Caroline. He was interrupted by a female voice and he looked up to the waitress standing there with a smile.

"What can I bring you?" She quickly asked.

Just then he noticed the little target on her chest saying 'Rebekah' and he smirked as he realized that it was Stefan's Rebekah.

Cute little thing she was.

"Nothing for now, thanks. I'm waiting for someone." He said.

"Okay." She said with a smile as she walked off.

"Hi there." Caroline said as she slid in the seat in front of him.

"Good evening blondie." He said.

"Stop calling me that." She said rolling her eyes.

"Whatever you want blo…err, Caroline." He said batting his eye-lashes sarcastically.

She groaned but then she just chuckled a little when she saw his expression.

"Okay, I have to admit that I've found your call to meet me here a little bit odd." She said. "So first of all I'm taken. And secondly I would never break girls code."

Wasn't she a presumptuos little thing? He rolled his eyes and scoffed a little.

"Slow down. I'm not interested in _you_." He immediatly clarified.

She raised an eyebrow confused and he spoke up again.

"Has Elena been talking about me lately?" He then asked.

Caroline gasped a little and her eyes widened in surprise at his question.

"Why so curious?" She said as she leaned in.

"And why did you mention 'girls code' before?" He threw back raising an eyebrow as he leaned in too.

He could see from the look on her face as she realized that she really did mention 'girls code' or whatever it was called that it was something that she wasn't supposed to say. God forbid if they broke a rule in that code of theirs.

"She…told me about you." She acknoweledged casually with a nod. "Some stuff, but nothing major. There's really nothing to talk about."

"Are you sure? Because I had a little chat with my baby bro earlier and he seemed to be getting into something that he just wouldn't tell me that you said to him. Apparently he respects girl code too." He said with a cringe.

Caroline laughed a little shaking her head and then looked at him.

"Elena's right about you." She said nodding. "You act like a tough cookie but you're really nice when you want to."

"She told you that about me?" He asked surprised.

"She tells me a lot of things, honey." She said knowingly with a wink.

"Care to share?" He said quietly doing his eye-thing.

He saw her blushing a little and shifting in her seat and he realized that he was winning her over with his charm. She was so easy to mess with.

"Well…" She said grinning, her tone seeming excited as she started with the gossip. "Elena likes you!" She then said squealing.

His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock as he heard those three little words that made his day. Elena likes you. Elena likes _me_, he thought.

Of all things he expected to hear this was definitely in the very last options. He was actually ready to hear how she thought that he was an unworthy ass, or that she just didn't like him in general.

"Are you okay?" Caroline said a little worried, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm great." He said with a nod, still clearly affected by what she just told him. "Go on."

"Well she told me that at first she thought that you were a jackass of first class, but then you started opening up to her a little and she said that you were so sweet bringing her ice-cream and talking to her and you know all this girly stuff." She said dreamily.

"Girly stuff?" Damon said almost offended.

"She also said that you're sex on legs." She said with a mischevious smile.

"Seriously?" He asked snorting a little with an amused expression on his face.

"No okay not exactly those words…but that you're hot." She said.

"Are you being serious? Becuase if you're playing me you better tell me right now blondie." He then said firmly.

She frowned and rolled her eyes. "First of all, I told you not to call me blondie. And secondly no, it's all true. Pity that you can't believe me."

"Then why isn't she acting on it? I mean yeah, I know that I've been kind of an ass when I first came back and that I was holding grudges but…I really am willing to look past that. I thought that I was showing her that." He said honestly.

He noticed Caroline being thoughtful all of a sudden an he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Crap." She immediatly said bringing her hand to her forehead. "I'm such a moron. I just told you everything that I couldn't tell _you_. I'm in so much trouble." She said frantically.

He chuckled a little but then grew serious again when he saw that she was still half panicked.

"I like her." He then said bluntly. "A _lot_."

Caroline immediatly looked up at him and shook her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"I want to win her over." He said.

"I'm sorry but now who's playing who? Elena knows that you're not into her like that. Besides when you forgot your phone at her place she saw a text from your girlfriend Andie saying how much she missed you and yadda yadda crap. So damn yes I'm in so much trouble for putting her in such an awkward position!"

Did Caroline drop bombshells like that everytime she opened her mouth? Elena saw a text from Andie? He had to admit that he didn't give her many reasons to think that he actually liked her, his walls were almost always up when she was around, but thinking that he wasn't into her because of Andie was just ridiculous. And she was so not his girlfriend.

"Oh for the love of god." He groaned rolling his eyes. "Andie is not my girlfriend. She's just someone I am…I _was_ having fun with."

That's why Elena seemed to act so weird when he came back to pick up his stuff. Just now he realized it. But never in a million years he expected that she could be affected by something like that.

"Look Caroline." He said sighing. "If you're willing to pretend like this conversation never happened, even though it seems very hard for you to keep things to yourself, I promise you I'm going to show you that I'm not playing you. Or especially Elena for that matter. Deal?"

"Okay." She said sheepishly.

"Promise me?" He said giving her a pointed look.

"Pinky promise." She said with a nod holding her pinky up.

He grimaced at her and she laughed out loud.

"I gotta go now." He said as he read a text from Stefan telling him to come home 'ASAP'. "But remember your promise." He said pointing his finger at her as he put his leather jacket on.

"Yes, yes, okay. I promised. But you better keep yours of promise or it's not going to end well for you Damon Salvatore." She said.

He smirked smugly as he headed out of the Grill. And this time he really had every reason to feel smug and sure of himself.

* * *

><p>"It's been lovely tonight." Elena said as Mason walked her to her porch.<p>

"It was." He said with a smile.

She smiled back at him and started fumbling through her purse to find her keys. She was caught by surprise when Mason cupped her face and brought his lips to hers.

He kissed her passionately and she kissed him back. Her keys forgotten for a few moments.

"Wow." He said as he pulled back and smiled happily. "I had been dying to do this all night."

"Oh really?" She asked a little breathless.

"Yeah..and I'm looking forward to more. Friday night?" He then asked with a grin.

"Fine by me." She replied smiling.

He gave her one last chaste kiss and finally walked off. Leaving a confused Elena on the porch.

The night had indeed been lovely. He'd been nothing but a gentleman to her and the resturant was amazing. And now on top of that he was a very good kisser.

But there weren't sparks, tingles, butterflies and all those kind of things that you felt when you kissed the someone of your dreams. She had felt none of that and she wondered if it was just because he caught her by surprise and he was the first person she kissed in a long time.

He was nice though. And she liked him. So why not giving it a try?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she got a text from Stefan, saying her that his mother was coming back tonight. Wasn't she supposed to come back on Wednesday? As thoughts of Maria finally coming back started filling her mind, it suddenly popped up in her head the _one_ person that she had promised herself not to think about tonight; Damon.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I'm feeling inspired ****during these days so here's another quick update, LOL. I'm ****really having fun at writing this story, so please let me know what you think about the Delena goodness in this chapter. :P**

**Also for who reads LYE I promise guys I will update as soon as possible. I'm just feeling more inspired at writing this right now!**

**Thank you for reading & please review. I love reading your thoughts. :)  
><strong>

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><p>She texted Stefan back asking for more informations as she kept thinking about Damon and how he would take it.<p>

As far as he knew Maria was coming back on Wednesday. He already seemed stressful and vulnerable about it today…she couldn't imagine how he would be like at the moment.

She suddenly felt like she was missing something, and she soon realized that it was about him. Right now she wanted to be there for him seeing how he was doing and support him. She felt stupid and completely delusional, since she'd just kissed another guy and Damon clearly had no romantic feelings for her whatsover.

She should be thinking about Mason and their perfect date right now. How he had just kissed her and how good she'd felt. She shouldn't be thinking about Damon and how _he_ felt about her.

Her phone started ringing and she immediatly picked up when she saw that it was Stefan.

"Hey." She said with a sigh.

"Hey El. Look I would ask you how was your date and everything but I really can't right now. I have to pick up my mom at the station and I…I need a favor." Stefan said hesitantly.

"Of course. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Well…you're back from your date, right?" He asked.

"No he just dropped me off actually." She said.

"So..uhm..could you come over and keep an eye on Damon? He's been pacing back and fort in the parlor since I told him and I'm worried that he could do something reckless or maybe leave. I can't allow that to happen again. I'm sure you would keep him from doing it." He said.

She tensed up a little at the thought of being alone with Damon. Just today she'd sworn to keep herself away from him and now she had to stay at the Boarding House with him.

"I..I don't know Stef. Maybe he does want to stay alone. He's not a kid." She said.

"Please Elena. He's not a kid but he sure is impulsive as one sometimes. I'm sure you would somehow soothe him. I don't know who else to ask." He said almost helplessy.

"Fine. I'm on my way." She then said with a defeated sigh as she hung up.

She quickly reached her car and got in, driving off to the Boarding House.

For the whole drive she kept having the feeling of turning around and going back home. She wanted to help Stefan and Damon with their family drama and she would honestly do anything to be there for them. But it wasn't easy. In the last few days she'd started being aware of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on between her and Damon.

But since it was all delusional and in her head it just wasn't the case to foster it. In a few weeks he would go back to Chicago and it would all be forgotten. Her crush or whatever it was had too as well.

As she pulled off the driveway she noticed that Stefan's car was already gone. Damon's chevy though was there and she took a deep breath before taking the keys and opening the door.

She fixed her hair a little and took a quick glance in the mirror in the hallway.

"Damon?" She called softly as she headed further.

The lights were all off, the only thing keeping the house from being completely in the dark was the fire from the fireplace.

She found him sitting on the couch in front of it, a glass of bourbon in his hand as he stared numbly into the fire.

She hesitantly took a seat next to him, unsure of what to say.

"Hey." She said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled a little.

He turned his head around and smiled back slightly. His ocean blue eyes seeming deeper and more beautiful than ever.

"You know, it's not the end of the world." She said chuckling as she tried to lighten the situation. "I'm sure it's all going to be okay."

"You couldn't even recognize me." He said with an humorless chuckle all of a sudden.

"What?" She said shaking her head a little as she grew confused.

"When you first saw me again, you couldn't even recognize me." He said.

"Damon…" She started, guiltiness filling her.

"No." He stopped her. "I'm not blaming you, Elena. I'm a different person. I'm not that guy from six years ago anymore in a lot of ways and…what if she doesn't see me as her son anymore?"

His eyes were holding so much insecurity and pain that she realized that all he wanted was being accepted and loved.

He tried so hard to hide his true self under that thick shell that he had created that when he broke down it was overhelming.

She sighed a little and put her head on his shoulder, not quite knowing what gave her the impulse to do it. Maybe she was just too tired.

He immediatly stiffened and she cursed herself mentally for doing what she just did, but as he quickly relaxed and leaned against her a little she smiled feeling at ease.

"What you just said is bullshit Damon. You would be her son even if you became a frog or a dog or a vampire. She would love you all the same." She said with a shrug.

She felt him moving against her as he started chuckling and she looked up at him.

"What?"

"A vampire? Seriously?" He asked still chuckling with an amused expression. "How much have you been drinking tonight exactly?"

She rolled her eyes and smacked him.

"Whatever you know what I meant."

"Yeah. I know." He said softly. "Did Stefan send you here to check up on me like I was a newborn by the way?"

"Pretty much." She said giggling.

"Unbelievable." He groaned shaking his head as he took a sip from his drink. "I came back for a reason…and I intend on staying true to that this time." He then said.

"But you're not really back. You'll go back to Chicago eventually." She said, trying to sound unaffected.

"We'll see about that." He just said before giving her a knowing look.

Her eyes shimmered a little at his words and his did the same.

As the tension was suddenly becoming too much they heard a car pulling off in the driveway.

Damon immediatly stood up, his face tense even if he was trying not to show it. Elena gave him an encouraging nod and stood up to stand near him.

They heard loud voices from the outside and Elena immediatly recognized Maria's voice. It was frantic and anxious and she could see Damon stiffening beside her.

"Where is he!" She immediatly started saying as she walked through the house.

"Mom…" Stefan said with an exhausted sigh.

As she entered the parlor her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open as the took in Damon's figure.

Elena gently squeezed his arm in comfort before going to stand near Stefan and leave them alone.

* * *

><p>"Oh god." Maria cried as she brought her hands to her mouth.<p>

She literally started crying and Damon immediatly felt uneasy.

He opened his mouth to say something a couple of times but nothing came out. No words could describe how many things he was feeling at the moment.

She hadn't changed a bit. Her hair grayed just a little and she had a few wrinkles up her forehead but she was still the same as she was six years ago. It seemed like time had stopped.

"Hey momma." He said sheepishly.

"My son!" She said as she hurried over him to wrap him into a tight hug. "Oh look at you how much you've grown up." She said looking at him with a proud smile even though tears were still streaming down her face.

"And you haven't changed a bit." He said with a smile as he kept hugging her.

He breathed in the familiar scent and noticed that she still used the same perfume from six years ago. She didn't let go of him for a few long minutes and she suddenly pulled back.

She then slapped him with an angry expression on her face and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Ouch." He said as he brought his hand to his hurting cheek.

"This is for disappearing on me for six horrible years Damon. Don't you _ever_ do that again." She said sternly.

"Okay, I deserved that." He said with a smirk as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me Damon Salvatore!" Maria said surprised by his snarky behavior.

"Sorry ma." He said.

After all these years his mother was still the only woman capable of frighten him so easily.

"Where…where are your glasses? And the bow ties that you used to wear?" She said baffled as she checked him out.

"Contact lenses." He said shrugging. "And you were the one who always made me wear those awful bows." He then said with a cringe.

She was looking at him so intently and yet so proudly as tears started welling up in her eyes again.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, son. But I couldn't help but notice what a wonderful strong man you've become." She whispered as she kept looking at him like he wasn't really there. Like he was just in her imagination.

She wrapped her arms around him again and he hugged her back, realizing that Elena was right. She still loved him no matter what.

"Well from ugly duckling to magnificent swan." He said with a chuckle.

"Stop with that." She said as she swatted his arm. "You've always been magnificent to me. You always were, Damon."

"Whatever you say ma." He said.

"It's already past midnight. I better go to bed." She said with a sigh. "Promise me you will be here in the morning." She then said as she gripped his arm tightly and looked at him firmly.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised with a nod. "Now you go to sleep and we'll talk later, okay?"

She nodded thoughtfully and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight son. I love you." She said as she stroked his face fondly.

He watched her as she went upstairs and sighed quietly. It went better than he thought after all. As always Elena was right.

A couple of minutes later Stefan and Elena headed downstairs chatting quietly. They gave him an expectant look and he rolled his eyes as he started feeling a little oppressed.

"It went well. I expected it to go a lot worse to be honest." He said as he plopped on the couch, sighing heavily.

"I told you so." Elena said with a knowing smile as she sat on the armchair and Stefan took a sit next to him on the couch.

"I've drunk a little too much so…I'm gonna stay here for the night, if you don't mind." Damon said a little uncomfortably.

"It's your house too Damon. You can do whatever you want to. We would actually love to have you back here…leave that crappy apartment already." Stefan said.

Damon raised an eyebrow at him comment as he grew thoughtful.

"Honestly I love having my privacy. Even though this house is huge I'd still feel at unease with you and mom here." He said.

"For privacy you mean having your little sleepovers? With that Andie, by any chance?" Stefan asked raising his eyebrows.

"It's not just that, you moron." He said annoyed rolling his eyes. "I'll have to think about it."

"Oh you told me you went out with Andie before. How did that go considering that she seems to be going a little psycho on you?" Stefan asked with a chuckle.

For a moment he thought about asking him of what the hell he was talking about but he suddenly remembered that he'd lied to him saying that he was going to meet up with Andie as an excuse when he met Caroline.

He immediatly looked at Elena and he remembered Caroline's words about her thinking that he and Andie were an item. Now that he knew it annoyed her, he paid attention to her reaction as Stefan mentioned her and he smirked slightly when he saw Elena cringing.

He thought about saying that he wasn't seeing her anymore but instead he just shrugged, wanting to know where this was going.

"Nothing special. We just went at the Grill." He said.

Stefan seemed a little suspicious at his vague response but Elena immediatly spoke up.

"I better get going or I'll fall asleep in the car." She said yawning a little, which he found incredibly cute.

"Don't be silly El. You'll just sleep here tonight." Stefan said as he stood up.

"You sure? With your mom back and all…" She started saying.

"We don't mind, you know that." Stefan assured her stroking her shoulder. "Do you Damon?"

"Absolutely not." He replied with a smirk.

She smiled sheepishly at them, her eyes lingering on Damon's form a little bit longer as she went upstairs.

"Just like that?" Damon asked confused as he looked at her heading upstairs.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she hasn't her pajama or anything else. Where does she sleep?" He asked.

It annoyed him to no end that she was most likely going to sleep in one of Stefan's t-shirts and maybe even sharing a room with him. They were friends, but it still bothered him for some reason if they were this close.

"When she sleeps over here she stays in her own room. With her own pajama." Stefan said keeping an amused smile as he saw Damon so baffled.

"Good." Damon said eyeing Stefan with a firm nod as he headed upstairs.

Stefan shook his head and laughed a little.

He was quiet as he walked through the hallway and when he heard Elena humming softly from her room he took a peek from the half closed door.

"You can come in." She said with a chuckle.

He entered quickly founding her sitting at the edge of her bed brushing her hair in her cute cupcakes pajama.

He laughed and gave her a weird look and she just blushed a little.

"Don't judge…it's from years ago but it's the only one I have here." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Not judging. I find it cute actually." He said as he kept checking her out.

He hesitantly took a seat next to her and smiled a little.

"I wanted to thank you." He then said. "I thought that it was going to be a lot worse than it did but you always said otherwise, so thank you."

"I told you there was nothing to worry about. She loves you Damon, I just said the truth." She said smiling back.

"Yeah but the heavy stuff is yet to come. I will have to explain everything and..it's not going to be easy." He said thoughtfully as he stood up to reach the door. "I don't want her to think that I didn't come back because I didn't love her or Stefan. They were never the problem."

As soon as he said it he saw Elena giving him a guilty look and he mentally kicked himself. Of course she thought that she was one of the reasons. And she was. Truthfully she'd had quite the impact on his decision to leave and hate the town, but she sure as hell wasn't the major one and he even told her that already.

"Elena I didn't mean…" He started.

"No hey I understand. I know that I've been horrible to you and that you left town hating me. You have every right to Damon. But I regret it a lot, you know? You really are a great person and I've never should have treated you the way I did." She said quietly looking down in embarassment.

His eyes shimmered a little at her words and how truly sorry she looked.

Then and there he realized that he was falling all over again for her. _Hard_. The one thing he'd promised himself to never do again.

He didn't know what made him to it but he suddenly pulled her into a hug, pulling her close to him. He wasn't quite the hugger and he didn't really like intimate hugs like this one. But with her it all seemed so easy and right.

He heard her gasping a little as she stiffened but she soon hugged him back, encircling his waist.

"What's done it's done Elena. And I'm sorry for the way I acted when I first came back. I was an ass." He whispered into her hair.

She hugged him tighter and he smiled softly.

"Is this the same perfume you were wearing that night at Jenna's?" He then asked.

She pulled back surprised that he still remembered and she chuckled a little.

"Yep, Chanel N° 5." She said nodding.

"Like Marilyn Monroe? But she also slept naked after wearing it honey." He said smirking mischeviously.

She blushed hard and swatted him playfully.

"Go to bed Damon." She said.

"With you?" He said as she pushed him out of her room.

"In your dreams." She said rolling her eyes.

"Count on it." He said winking with his smirk still in place.

She shook her head at him and he closed the door still smiling.

He thought about going to sleep in his old room but it felt somehow still odd so he just decided to go in one of the many spare rooms.

He went into Stefan room to borrow his toothpaste to use in the morning and took off in his room, still feeling edgy about the fact that Elena was sleeping at only two rooms ahead of him. If she only knew the things he would do to her…

* * *

><p>Elena woke up feeling relaxed and at ease like she hadn't been in a long time. At first she thought that it was because of her date with Mason and that it was the after glow of it, but she soon realized that it was because the last thing she did before going to bed was being in Damon's arms.<p>

That made her feel sort of giddy and she quickly recomposed herself when she realized that she was smiling widely.

She quickly brushed her teeth and tied her hair in a pony-tail and as she checked the clock she saw that it was only 8 am.

She put her sweatshirt on and headed downstairs smelling pancakes.

"Hey there." She said as she went to kiss Stefan on the cheek.

"Up early?" He said as he poured some sryup on his pancakes.

"Yup. I feel good today." She said happily as she stretched.

"Is it for your date with Mason Lockwood?" He asked chuckling a little.

"Oh…yeah. Totally." She quickly lied forcing a laugh.

It's not that she lied, her date with Mason had been more than good. It just wasn't the only reason.

She took some of the pancakes he'd made and took a sit on the stool next to him.

"Where are Damon and your mother?" She then asked quizzically.

"Taking a walk. Talking, I suppose." He said shrugging.

"Oh. I see." She said quietly. "This must be hard on you too. Having your brother back all of a sudden after all these years. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I...well at first it was. It's been kind of a shock but you know what? I'm just happy that he's back and that we got a chance to sort things out." He said.

She nodded silently guessing that he was probably right. No matter how screwed up things were he was still his big brother and he missed him.

"But he's going to go back to Chicago…" She said, gulping nervously as she noticed the pain in her chest as she spoke the words.

"He is." Stefan said nodding. "But we'll still keep in contact and he's going to visit from time to time. He won't be really gone this time."

"You have a point." She said forcing a chuckle.

They ate quietly for a few more minutes and then Stefan spoke up again.

"Oh by the way we were planning on going to the lake house for Caroline's birthday tonight. Spending the night there and all. You wanna come?" He asked.

"Sure. I actually wanted to ask her what she was planning on doing for tonight." She said smiling.

"You know that she invited Damon too?" He then said shaking his head as he laughed.

"What?" Elena said as her eyes widened in surprise. "No way."

"I'm telling you she did. She says that she likes him and that he's nice. Go figure." Stefan said making a face.

"And..what did he say?" She asked, secretly hoping that he was going to come.

"He's coming. He says that he has 'nothing better to do anyway'." Stefan said mocking him and rolling his eyes.

"Is he bringing Andie?" She then asked trying not to sound annoyed.

"I really don't think so. Even if they're still seeing each other I think that it's more of a casual thing you know, nothing serious." He said shrugging.

"If you say so..." She said with a sigh.

Serious or not that skanky little thing still had her paws on him and Elena didn't approve. At all.

They chatted for a while and she then headed up to her room to change and go back to her place so she could pack things for tonight.

When she headed downstairs she noticed that Damon and Maria still didn't come back and she hoped that everything was going fine.

She got back home in a few minutes and as she entered the house she found Jeremy playing some videogame in the living room.

"Hey what's up." He said, his eyes still focused on the screen.

"Hey Jer." She said as she went to ruffle his hair. "How are you doing?" She asked and then grimaced a little as she saw the weird game he was playing.

"Oh I'm great. What about you? You didn't come home last night." He said suspiciously giving her a look.

She rolled her eyes and laughed when she saw the look that he was throwing at her.

"I was just at Stefan's." She quickly explained.

"I still don't get why you two aren't a couple. You're always together." He said with a shrug.

"He's just a friend Jeremy. My bestfriend. You know how much he and his mom helped me and even you and Jenna after the accident. They've always been here for us." She said seriously.

"I know." He said sighing. "What about his brother? Did he go back to Chicago?" He then asked casually.

"No..but he will. In a few days or weeks I don't know." She said quietly.

She sat there with him in the living room for a while as she was filled in her thoughts but quickly snapped out of them when she remembered all the things she had to do.

"I better get ready. There's Caroline's party tonight and we're going to the lake house." She said.

"I know. I'm coming too." Jeremy said with a knowing smirk.

"What?" Elena spat. "You're so not coming Jer. What is Caroline doing inviting all the town?"

"I heard that she has invited a bunch of people yeah. She called me before and I'm coming, like it or not." He said.

"Fine." She said sighing in frustration. "There's gonna be alcohol and stuff and…I want you to behave Jeremy." She said giving him a pointed look.

"You know you don't need to worry anymore Elena. I'm past that." He said seriously.

"I will always worry for you Jer." She said quietly as she headed upstairs.

The evening came by pretty quickly and she was more than ready when she heard the horn of Caroline's car.

She took her bag and her eyes widened in shock when she got outside. They were _all_ into Matt's van waving at her.

"We're all going with one car?" She asked confused.

"Yes I thought that it was going to be more fun!" Caroline squealed clapping her hands. "I mean the others are going to meet us up there but _we_ are all going together."

"Okay then." Elena said still feeling like scratching her head about it.

Matt was in the driver seat with Caroline beside him. In the seats behind there were Jeremy, Vicky, and with her big surprise even Rebekah.

She started panicking when she noticed that Damon wasn't there but she immediatly smiled when she saw that he was sitting in the last row with Stefan beside him. Damon looked annoyed and Stefan was trying to make him behave. It was kinda fun to watch.

"Uhm, Caroline…" She said a little confused. "Where do I seat?" She asked as she saw that there were no free seats.

Caroline immediatly turned around and she started panicking.

"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry Elena. What the hell I was so sure that it was large enough for everyone!" She said frustrated.

"You can sit on my lap." She then heard Damon's smooth voice saying.

Her eyes widened in surprise at his words and all of a sudden she felt like a little girl at her first crush when her heart started beating furiously.

"Are you…are you sure?" She asked trying not to choke on her words.

"Yeah I mean it's just an hour from here. No big deal." He said with a smirk.

She thought about saying no because it would make them both probably feel a little uncomfortable, but who was she kidding? She wanted it more than anything.

"Okay." She said quietly throwing a knowing glance at him.

She went to put her bag in the trunk and quickly hopped up, going in the last row of seats as she hesitantly sat on Damon's lap.

She kept blushing and blushing and she wondered if she looked like a tomato by now.

"That's it." He whispered huskily as she placed herself on top of him.

"Tell me if I'm heavy because if I'm heavy I mean you can tell me there's no need to –" She started blabling but she was quickly cut off by Damon's amused chuckle.

"Elena..it's fine. More than fine." He then said.

"Okay then." She whispered as she gulped a little.

Jeremy and Vicky were talking and laughing, Rebekah was listening to her iPod and Stefan was looking broody out of the window.

After a little while Damon opened his legs to make her seat more comfortably and her heartbeat started racing like a drum when he encircled her waist with his arms. She was suddenly feeling so hot.

She could smell his intoxicating scent and his cool breath and she noticed her hands shaking a little. God, what the hell was happening to her?

"Have you ever been to our lake house?" He said quietly as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Yep." She managed to say, hoping that he wasn't feeling how tense she was.

Her hands unconsciously rested on his on her waist and she took a deep breath before speaking again.

"So how did the talk with your mother go today?"

"Today it's been a start." He said with a sigh as he shrugged and started playing with her fingers. "I told her the reasons of why I left behind but we talked more about what I did during all these years and stuff, you know. I have the feeling that the awkwardness will go on for longer than I thought."

"It's normal Damon. You've been away for six years and it may take some time before things get back to normal completely." She reassured him.

She started feeling more at ease and relaxed and she leaned a little into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

She felt so comfortable and she was settling in such a sense of rightness.

"Hi." He whispered looking down at her face.

"Hi." She whispered back chuckling a little.

He started nuzzling at her neck and she squealed a little and laughed. She ignored the goose-bumps that formed all over her skin and the tingles that she felt but she couldn't ignore the tickles.

That made Stefan turn around and he looked at them with a weird and confused expression.

"Oh my…" He said rolling his eyes as he shaked his head.

Rebekah turned around too and smiled at them.

"You guys are so cute. For how long have you been dating?" She asked.

"We're not dating." She immediatly said with her eyes wide open, blushing like a tomato again when she realized that people thought that they were dating. Was she being so evident?

She felt his grip on her loosening a little but she didn't have a chance to look at him. Was he disappointed or what?

"No we're not." He said quietly with a smile.

"Oh." Rebekah said a little awkwardly as she turned around again.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes and Elena fell asleep in his arms after a while.

He unconsciously started stroking her hair when he heard Stefan chuckling.

"I dare you to be more obvious Damon." He said shaking his head. "You like her."

"I do." He said calmly as he shrugged and kept stroking her hair.

"You live in Chicago, Damon. Your life is there and I don't want her to start getting delusional about whatever this is between the two of you." He said sternly.

"Well maybe in Chicago there's not what I _need_." He said equally sternly, throwing a hard glance at Stefan. "It's soon to talk about it anyway. I still have to figure things out, okay?"

"Then in the meantime try not to mess with Elena's head, okay?" Stefan threw back.

Luckily everyone seemed to be absorbed into their own things and they were oblivous to the little argument that had just happened.

They arrived twenty minutes later and he softly shook Elena who slowly opened her eyes.

"We're here." He said chuckling.

"Oh." She said quietly as she stirred a little.

He noticed a few cars already there and wondered just how many people blondie had invited. He didn't know how Stefan could allow her to throw such a huge party into their own house. Couldn't she do it somewhere else? Although when she asked him to come he accepeted only because he knew that Elena was going to come too. He couldn't care less about anything else.

They all got out of the car and when he went to take his bag from the trunk he froze when he heard that voice. God no.

"Surprise!" Mason said as he came out of the gardens and went to pick Elena up in his arms.

In that moment Damon understood that he was helplessy and simply _jealous._


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I really don't know how to thank you for your alerts and especially nice reviews****, so I hope fast updates will make it for me. :)**

**I really do appreciate your thoughts so please keep them coming!**

**Two things about this chappie: 1. Rated M is for a reason. ;) 2. At the end there might be a little cliffhanger that you won't like. Don't be too mad at me though, please. :D**

**Thank you for reading & please let me know what you think!**

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe that it was really happening. Just when he thought that he would have Elena all for himself for a couple of days the dumbass had to <em>surprise<em> everyone.

The grip on his bag tigthtened when he saw Mason wrapping his arms around Elena's waist, the very same waist he had just wrapped his arms around a few moments ago. When he softly kissed her on the lips and she kissed him back Damon saw red.

Jealousy stings bad, he thought.

Why did he have to be such an asshole to Elena? Why couldn't he have treated her like he should have from the start? And what if Caroline wasn't right after all? What if Elena really was into Mason and only saw him as a friend?

The possibilities were too many and at the moment he couldn't find any positive one. He felt defeated. Maybe having Mason here was destiny telling him that he had to back off.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you." Mason said as he looked at Elena.

"Oh wow." She said giggling lightly and kissing him chastily on the lips. "How did you get here anyway?"

"Well I shouldn't be here actually. I just came to say hello. I have a business meeting thirty minutes from here and your friend Caroline told me to stop by." He said shrugging.

Damon immediatly threw a glance at Caroline who just smiled and winked knowingly at him.

What game was she playing? First she told him that he could win Elena over and then she invited Mason?

"They look cute don't they?" Stefan teased him as he nudged him a little.

"Shut the fuck up Stefan." He muttered earning a laugh from him.

They all headed towards the house except for Elena who stood in the driveway talking to Mason.

"What a lovely surprise." He then said faking a smile as he walked towards them.

"Hey Salvatore." Mason said patting his shoulder, his arm still hooked around Elena's waist.

Elena looked a little confused as she looked between the two. By now she could recognize when Damon was upset or annoyed and he definitely was at the moment.

He was so beautiful with the sunset setting on him though. His flawless features and body were accentuated by it and she found herself staring at him in awe.

"Elena?" Mason's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She said somehow still dreamy as she kept looking at the perfection that was Damon.

"I should probably get going. Maybe I'll make it later for the party, I still don't know for how long the meeting is going to last." He said with a sigh.

"Sure. Just let me know if you can make it, okay?" She said smiling a little as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Deal. Bye sweetie." He said as he walked off.

She then noticed Damon still standing there with his hands on his hips and with an expectant look.

"What?"

"Do you need help with your bag?" He asked casually.

She looked at him suspiciously and crossed her arms.

"Why are you asking me now? Couldn't you just do the gentleman and take it before?" She said as she raised her eyebrows.

"You know how much I love annoying you." He said making a face.

"You do _are_ annoying." She groaned rolling her eyes.

He chuckled a little and headed inside with her bag. They went upstairs and since he'd already chosen his room he hoped he could manage to make her stay in the one next to his.

"Here is okay?" He asked as he opened the door.

She looked around a little and then nodded. She'd been here before multiple times, especially in the summer, but Damon being here too gave her a weird feeling of completeness.

"Thank you Damon. But I really could have brought it myself you know. It's not even that heavy." She said chuckling a little.

"Sue me if I wanted to be a gentleman." He said quietly as he got closer to her.

He checked her out with his infamous smirk and she blushed.

"I...we better get ready. Everyone will be here in an hour or so." She then said clearing her throat a little.

"Wear something _sexy_." He said huskily before leaving the room.

That comment left her all hot and bothered and she now had something new to fantasize on while having a very long shower…

* * *

><p>Forty minutes later she had almost finished getting ready and she smiled looking at herself in the mirror. She'd noticed that Damon always liked to dress black, so she'd decided to put on something sexy and black as well.<p>

The dress reached her knees and showed just some of her clevage, doing a little push up to it. She'd curled her hair just a little and wore a red lipstick which matched perfectly with her olive skin.

She smelled like jasmine and the high heels she was wearing made her smooth legs appear longer than they already were.

Obviously she kept telling herself that she'd put so much effort at being perfect because Mason would probably stop by at one point, but she knew better. She kept looking at herself in the mirror, turning around and striking some poses and she jumped a little when she heard someone knocking at the door.

The party had already begun and some people were downstairs, drinking and eating snacks. The music was already pretty loud too.

"Go ahead." She shouted a little at whoever was knocking.

She kept fixing her curls a little wanting to appear flawless and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Damon entering the room.

She unconsciously grinned and he smiled back, staring at her in awe.

She couldn't help but notice how flawless he looked. He was always well dressed and handsome, but with this tight black shirt, black jeans and his black hair a little messy he was the definition of a God. And his eyes seemed to me bluer than they usually were.

She already imagined girls being all over him tonight and the thought made her rage.

He slowly walked up towards her and smiled sheepishly. She noticed that he was holding something behind him and she tried to take a peek curiously.

"You look flawless Elena." He said sincerely, pronouncing her name so softly and smoothly that her legs almost buckled.

"You too." She whispered as she gulped nervously.

He was a little hesitant and she was starting to get nervous.

"What do you have in there?" She said as she chuckled a little.

"Promise not to mock me." He said sighing as he came up to stand in front of her, giving her a pointed look.

"I promise." She said with a firm nod as she kept herself from smiling. He was being so cute.

"It's something I got for you years ago. God only knows how it's still here." He said shaking his head.

"For me?" She whispered, gazing at him intently.

"Yup. I never actually got a chance to give it to you…until now. But it's nothing too serious really." He said gazing back at her.

"Make me open it already please. I'm too curious." She said squealing a little.

"Here." He said softly as he handed it to her.

The confection of the gift was very accurate and it was almost a pity to rip it off for how pretty it looked. She gave him a wide smile before opening it and she gasped in surprise when she opened the little box.

How could he define _this_ nothing? It was a beautiful couple of pink pearl earrings and a matching bracelet with a precious ribbon entangled in it.

They were truly magnificent and she couldn't believe that he had bought this for her. Especially years ago.

"Oh Damon." She immediatly cried out as she brought her hand to her mouth. She was speechless.

He suddenly looked petrified thinking that he'd done something wrong. Maybe she didn't like it and she didn't know how to tell him.

"This is so beautiful. This is too precious for me and oh god I can't take it, it's too much." She said as she started crying.

Oh, all of the feelings. She started feeling so guilty and awful for how she'd been treating him back then. He didn't deserve it and she hated all the pain that she'd caused him.

"Yes you can." He said softly, taking the bracelet from her hands and binding it on her wrist. "It looks perfect on you."

"No Damon you don't understand. This is one of the most beautiful things someone has ever given to me and…I can't accept it, especially because of how I acted with you back then. It's just too much I don't deserve it." She said as heavy tears started forming in her eyes.

He started stroking her wrist with his thumb just where the bracelet was hanging and her eyes snapped up to his. His ocean blue eyes were so intense and deep that she could drown into them.

"Then make it up to me by accepting it now. It was always meant to be yours Elena." He said.

She smiled up at him and suddenly pulled him into a hug, breathing in his comforting scent as she held him tight.

"Thank you." She just whispered.

"You're welcome." He said hugging her back and smiling contently.

She smelled so good that he was craving to kiss her and taste her so bad.

She finally pulled back and looked at him sheepishly, her hand lingering on her wrist and softly caressing the bracelet.

"No more tears though okay?" He said smiling a sweet smile as his thumbs gently caressed her tears away.

She looked so pure and so simply beautiful right now.

All of a sudden their smiles faded, replaced by an intense gaze. They were looking at each other with lust and need and they both knew what they wanted.

As he leaned in she felt herself melting and her knees buckle. Just then a loud knock at the door made both of them jump in surprise.

"You two! I was looking for you everywhere. Come downstairs please." Caroline said with a pout. "The party has begun."

"Sure Car, give me two minutes." Elena said trying to recompose herself.

Caroline nodded giving them a knowing smirk and quickly closed the door.

"I'll just be…downstairs." Damon said clearing his throat a little as he headed to the door.

"Okay. I'll just put these on and I'll come too." She said giving him a weak smile.

As he closed the door behind him she let out a heavy sigh and sat on the edge of the bed, her heart still beating rapidly from the closeness that they had just shared. They were just _so_ close to kiss.

She smiled looking at the little jewel on her wrist and then took off the earrings she was wearing to replace them with the ones Damon gave her.

Now she really felt perfect.

She headed downstairs pretty quickly and she couldn't believe just how many people were there. It was already a big mess and she huffed a little.

She didn't want to break it for Caroline, but she had started dislking parties like this years ago. They just didn't do it for her anymore.

She remembered to keep an eye on Jeremy from time to time during the night because she still didn't trust him completely around alcohol and all the stuff that these parties brought. Especially if he was going to hang out with Vicky Donovan.

She spotted Stefan talking with Rebekah and she chuckled a little. Finally he was starting to make a move on her, and she seemed to be quite into him too.

She started looking around for Damon and she hated how lost she felt when she couldn't find him. It was like she had the need to know where he was and be close to him.

"Boo." She heard someone saying from behind her.

She jumped a little and then her eyes widened in shock when she saw Bonnie standing there. She immediatly squealed and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Bonnie! You're back!" She said grinning.

"Yes my dad dropped me here. I couldn't miss Caroline's party, she wouldn't forgive me." She said with a laugh.

"Gosh Bon it seems so long and you've been away just a month. When are you coming back for good?" She then asked as they went to seat in a couch in the corner of the room.

"Soon. A week probably." She said. "And honestly I can't wait. I just can't stand my father's new girlfriend, she's nuts." She then said groaning.

"Well you do are a little judgey, so it wouldn't surprise me if she was instead actually nice." Elena said amused.

"Is that Jeremy?" Bonnie then asked with a look of surprise on her face as she pointed at Jeremy, who was drinking and laughing from the other side of the room.

"Yep." Elena said nodding. "He's finally back."

"Oh I can see that." Bonnie said with an approving nod as she checked him out.

"Bonnie." Elena said laughing as she swatted her arm.

"What? He's hot." She said.

"He's my baby brother." Elena said baffled.

"I bet that he's not _that_ baby…" Bonnie said winking.

"Okay that's enough." Elena said cringing and shaking her head.

She kept looking around for Damon and she started getting nervous when she couldn't see him anywhere. What if he had found someone to spend the party and maybe the night with? She couldn't bear the thought of it.

"Who are you looking for?" Bonnie said as she noticed Elena looking frantically around the room.

"No one." She said playing dumb as she drank some punch.

"Elena?" Bonnie said raising her eyebrows knowingly.

"Damon…" She said pronouncing his name longingly.

"Damon?"

"Stefan's brother. I'm majorly crushing on him and it's not okay. I'm dating Mason and Damon just sees me as a friend. At least I think so." She then said knotting her eyebrows thoughtfully as she remembered that they were about to kiss just a few minutes ago.

"Whoa, stop right now. You dropped too many bombshells on me all at once girl." Bonnie exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry. I should start from the beginning." Elena said chuckling.

"Damon…Damon Salvatore? You like him? And you're dating Mason Lockwood? God, why things start getting interesting just when I'm gone?"

Elena sighed deeply and started explaining everything to Bonnie. From Damon coming back and being the new hottie of the town, to him being an ass to her, to them getting along and her falling for him, to her dating Mason Lockwood.

"Well…crap." Bonnie said speechless. "I can't believe though that you have feelings for him but you haven't told him anything. Hello! The guy was head over heels for you in highschool, there's no way that he would turn you down now. He's obviously into you too."

"I don't know Bonnie…maybe I'm just delusional. Maybe he just sees me as a good friend or some crap like that. Besides I'm dating Mason and he's seeing that Andie girl. Not to mention that he lives in Chicago." Elena said defeatedly.

"Oh, sweetie." Bonnie said as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "You're too pessimistic. To be honest who cares if you're seeing Mason? It's not like you're official or anything. Just cut it before it starts getting serious. And ask Damon if he really likes the other girl." She then said with a shrug.

"I can't…" Elena started saying.

"Oh grow some balls Elena for god's sake!" Bonnie said exhasperatedly. "If you never try, you'll never know."

"It's just that Mason seems like a safe option, you know. Maybe I could really grow to like him if Damon wasn't around all the time." She said quietly looking down.

"I see." Bonnie said with a sigh. "Just think about it though, okay? And by the way those earrings and that bracelet that you're wearing are fabulous."

"Damon gave them to me." She said smiling fondly.

Bonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And then you think that he's not head over heels for you anymore. Please."

Elena smiled feeling a little more sure of herself. Judgey or not, Bonnie was the voice of the reason most of the times. She didn't sugar coat things but she was always honest to her.

"Go search for Damon." Bonnie said nudging her a little. "I know I'm going to talk to Jeremy." She then said winking.

She nodded as they got up and she started laughing when she saw Bonnie walking towards Jeremy and doing her moves on him. It was weird to see her bestfriend hitting on her baby brother.

She then started walking through the crowded room and she suddenly felt the urge to step outside. The noise of the music was getting on her nerves and she couldn't even walk properly from the amount of people.

But where was Damon?

She finally managed to step outside and she took a deep breath breathing in the fresh air. There were a few people out too but it was nothing compared to the crowd inside the house.

She then heard Damon's familiar laugh and she stiffened a little. She saw red when she saw a blonde chick pratically shoving her tits in his face.

She didn't think twice before walking over them and she felt a strange possessive feeling.

"Hey." She said trying to sound calm.

He turned around surprised to find her there but the smile that he gave her, almost as if she was the only girl in the world, made her melt from tip to toe. His eyes were shimmering with something that she'd never quite seen in them before and she found herself smiling adoringly at him. They were in their own little world for all she cared.

"Elena." He said, his hand casually encirling her waist, reminding her what a simple touch from him could do to her. "I couldn't find you anywhere." He then whispered into her ear.

She smiled weakly and then glanced at the blonde girl who was awkwardly standing there.

"She's Dianna. She was in the same class as mine in highschool." He said.

"I see." Elena said forcing a smile. "I'm Elena." She said, shaking her hand a bit too firmly.

"Nice to meet you Elena." Dianna said shaking her hand back and giving her a weird look.

Damon was looking amused between them and Elena realized that perhaps she was being a little too obvious.

"And that's Dianna's girlfriend, Mandy." He then said pointing at the girl taking some chips inside.

Elena gasped a litte and blushed red like a tomato as she realized the gaffe that she'd just made. Dianna was…gay? And she had just made a fool out of herself by acting all clingly and clearly annoyed by her presence. Why did she always do or say the wrong things?

"I'll go back inside. See you two later." Dianna said smiling at them.

He waved at her and then turned to look at Elena who was looking down sheepishly. For once he decided not to make snarky remarks but instead took her hand and led her to the garden near the pool.

She felt butterflies filling her stomach as soon as his skin made contact with hers and she understood that she was falling hard for him and him only. His hand was warm and it just felt so natural holding hands with him.

He sat on the grass and she took a sit next to him, her arm entwined between his. She couldn't believe that she felt so at ease and that she wanted nothing more than staying like this with the very same guy who gave her nothing but crap to her just a few days ago.

His walls were hard to throw down, but once you managed to do that, you would find the most amazing person hidden in there. He was so sweet. She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it six years ago.

"I can't stand all that loud music." She said quietly, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Me neither." He said.

"What?" She said surprised looking up at him. "I don't believe you. You're the party and girls type."

"I'm not, trust me. I mean I like having fun and all but…loneliness made me become like that. Superficiality is all you get when you're alone." He said staring ahead of him.

"Alone? Damon, you're not alone. And you're such a great person. I just can't believe that in all these years you haven't found someone making you happy as you deserve to be." She said with firmness.

He looked down at her and smiled sweetly. She looked so convinced of what she just said. He stroke some of the hair from her face and spoke up again.

"I push people away. It's…in me. I did it for all these years, believe me or not. And to be honest I don't mind loneliness." He said shrugging.

"Bullshit. Everyone needs someone in their life. You're no exception." She said. "You have your life in Chicago, and Stefan, Maria, Andie…"

"You?" He added quietly as he started caressing her bottom lip with his thumb.

"Me too." She confirmed, staring at him intently.

After a while he laid down, pulling her with him.

This is perfection, she thought as she sighed in contentment.

She felt so carefree and truly happy for the first time in such a long time. The cool breeze of the night caressing her face, Damon's arms around her and just the silence surrounding them.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

She bit her lip indecided if telling him or not what she was really thinking and she then decided to just spill it.

"I don't like Andie…sorry." She said still biting her bottom lip.

"That's another thing we have in common." He said with a chuckle.

"What? But..I thought you were seeing her?" She asked confused.

"Kind of. We uhm…hooked-up once but that's it. She's stalkerish and annoying. And sleeping with someone doesn't imply liking them." He said shrugging casually.

She stayed silent for a few moments just smiling at what he said. It still bothered and grossed her out thinking about him sleeping with another woman, Andie especially, but she was glad that he broke things off with her.

Even seeing him with Dianna before made Elena understand that she was helplessy and utterly jealous.

She noticed that he smelled so good and without thinking she started running her hand through his soft black hair, craving to touch him.

She was resting with one elbow on the grass to support her weight and the other hand running gently through his hair. He had a cute little smile on his face and she couldn't help but smile back. She really hoped that this Damon, and not the version of himself when he first came back, could stay forever.

She then suddenly lowered her head to linger her lips on his, giving him a peck not able to contain her need to taste him and feel him against her. Just a quick touch like this sent her right to heaven and when she felt him kissing her back she lost it.

He was being gentle and yet firm, his lips dancing with hers.

Words couldn't describe the feeling of rightness at the moment. It was by far the best kiss she had ever received and she was starting to get addicted. His lips were like a drug and she feared that if they pulled apart she would feel empty and crave them again.

He was longing and passionate, still not really able to believe that this was finally happening. Elena's lips were soft and swollen and the intensity of the kiss made them both feel giddy.

They suddenly pulled back breathing heavily as they kept staring at each other in lust.

"I want to touch you." He suddenly said in a husky voice, lifting himself up a little from the grass.

Her eyes widened in surprise and lust when she understood the meaning of his words. She kept looking at him in a loss of words and she closed her eyes when he softly smoothed her hair, passing a hand through it and then lowering it to her neck. He gently pulled her down on the grass again, his hand running up and down her arm making her shiver in delight.

"Keep your eyes closed." He whispered as he lowered himself a little on top of her.

A cry of pleasure escaped her when he started kissing down her collarbone, his lips lingering just on top of her breasts.

His other hand rested on her leg and as he slowly started running it up her thigh she couldn't think straight anymore.

She was aware of what he was going to do and she also couldn't bring herself to care. She trusted Damon enough and she wanted it badly.

"Hmm." He murmured when he reached her hip and felt it completely naked. "I call you little Miss no clothes for a reason you know." He said with a smirk.

She smiled and blushed as she remembered that she wasn't wearing her panties. It was turning him on to no end.

"Why aren't you wearing any underwear, you dirty little thing?" He teased her raising his eyebrows.

"It's any of your business." She threw back with an amused smirk, her eyes still closed.

"I have my hand between your legs honey, it's a little too late to be so prude." He retorted with his devilish infamous smirk.

He lifted her dress a little higher and she wasn't able to keep a moan when he finally reached his goal.

He hummed approvingly as he started appreciating her tight bare little sex. She gripped his shoulders tightly as she let out a loud moan and her eyes rolled in the back of her head when he started teasing and playing with her clit. She was so wet and ready for him.

"Damon...please..." She managed to cry out.

He inserted one finger into her core and she screamed in pleasure as her whole being started throbbing in desire. She was already so close and she didn't know how he worked such magic on her. She had fingered herself and been fingered before, but nothing could compare to what Damon was making her feel.

When he insterted a second finger she started chanting his name as he thrusted in and out of her.

Her grip on him tightened and she buried her head in his neck screaming her release. Her legs felt like jelly as they still shook a little in pleasure.

She was panting heavily, her face flushed and smiling.

He smiled cockily knowing that he was the reason for it and kissed her again, not being able to wait to have her lips on his once again. She tasted like cherry and alcohol and he wanted to devour her.

Eventually the rush calmed and he just pecked at her lips from time to time as he kept staring at her face, his eyes holding adoration and disbelief at the thought that this was truly happening. He'd dreamt about this for years, then reaching the point of wanting nothing more than to cause her pain, to wanting nothing more than to see her happy.

"You smell so amazing." He said as he nuzzled at her neck.

She purred a little, keep stroking her neck to his face.

After a while she suddenly pulled back and straightened herself a little, smoothing her hair down.

"Wait." She said taking a deep breath. "Are you…are you sure about this? Because if you're not I'm letting you off the hook now and calling it a night. I…I can take it."

He sighed a little and smiled at her. "Come here." He said quietly as he gestured to her to sit on his lap.

She went to sit on him, her legs wrapped around his waist as she started fumbling with the buttons of his shirt sheepishly.

She looked so innocent and pure. He lifted her chin a little, making her look at him in the eyes and giving her a quick reassuring peck on the lips.

"I know I've been an ass to you, and honestly I still can't believe myself that this is happening. But Elena…I _am_ sure. I was so wrong about you and I'm sorry I didn't see it from the start. You're sweet, caring, good, beautiful. What's not to want about you? I promise I'll make it up to you if you still don't believe me. I'm not playing you. I want _you_." He said sincerely.

"I'm sorry too I didn't see how amazing you were back then. I should have fallen for you six years ago." She said quietly as she smiled a little.

His gaze was holding so much pride and disbelief. Did she really have such an affect on him?

"We'll make this work. I won't lose you again." He said as he kissed her forehead.

He suddenly stood up and she looked at him in confusion.

"I'm going to take something to drink. You want anything?" He said.

"Some punch can do." She said with a smile.

He smiled back at her and headed towards the house.

She still couldn't believe that it was true and that she had finally let herself go. She grinned and squealed happily throwing her legs up in the air a little. Maybe she looked insane but she really couldn't bring herself to care right now. Damon was giving her a chance. He thought that she was worth enough and she wouldn't let him down. Not again. Not this time.

A loud buzzing made her jump a little and she raised her eyebrows when she saw the screen of Damon's phone lightening on the grass. It had probably fallen from his pocket when he stood up or moved.

She wasn't able to contain herself so she just took a look to see who it was, but she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the text from a certain Katherine. For a moment she hoped with all herself that it wasn't really Damon's phone and she started raging the more she went on with the text.

_When are you bringing sexy back here? I miss ya and our little sleepovers, lover. And BTW how did it go with that bitch you told me about? Did you screw her for good as you told me you would? You could seduce a nun. And you're so evil and sneaky when you want to. So please break her heart or whatever you intended on doing and come back ASAP. There's some business we need to talk about too. - Kath  
><em>

If before she had thought that she was in heaven...now she had definitely fallen back in hell.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I finally managed to update, hah! I've been wanting to upload this chapter for a couple of days but I kept re-reading it since I'm not really sure about it. So you let me know what you think please, LOL! :)  
><strong>

**However, I'm pretty sure you're going to be satisfied at the end of it anyway. Ha. ;)**

**Thank you for reading & Please review!**

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><p>She stood there, phone in her hands and her head spinning as she took in the moment. I knew that it was just too good to last, she thought.<p>

She had let herself be fooled by Damon and his act. But who knew that he could be this good at it? And most of all that he actually hated her so much? She would have appreciated more if he'd kept his early behavior, just ignoring her and being an ass to her. But now he had just succeeded in what he had intended on doing; he broke her heart. In tiny little pieces. And it hurt. God, if it hurt.

All the happiness and the excitement seemed to be fading piece by piece. Each time reminding her what a bitch Karma was and how awful was to be played by the ones you loved and believed in. How could she have been so naive? He had seemed so honest and sincere in everything he told her just a few minutes ago. Even his face spoke it. It was disturbing how quite the opposite it was in reality.

She stood there numb and thoughtful when she suddenly heard footsteps and all the rage and betrayal that she had just felt surfaced again. She would stay calm, though. She would not lose her temper and dignity.

"Here's your drink." Damon said with a smile as he approached her and handed her the paper cup.

She took a silent deep breath before turning around and facing him, not wanting to show him how really hurt she was.

"You lost this." She said quietly as she held his phone up, her glare indifferent and distant.

"Oh thank you sweetheart." He said taking it, somehow still oblivious about her change of mood.

"Let's just cut the crap, Damon." She said shaking her head with a little grimace.

"What?" He asked knotting his eyebrows in confusion.

"You know, you may be a _very_ great actor, but next time tell your 'partner in crime' not to send you such obvious texts." She said with an humorless chuckle.

"Elena I'm not following you." He said, his tone a bit firmer as he crossed his arms over his chest looking at her with a wary expression.

"You can stop playing dumb." She said. "Why don't you take a look at your last text and stop treating me like I'm an oblivious moron. Which well…I have clearly been until now." She said, her voice shaking a little in the end.

She was putting all the effort she could to sound and look tough and indifferent. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her bursting into tears but it was _so_ hard.

He glanced at her in confusion one last time and his eyes widened in shock and understanding when he started reading the text.

"Oh, Elena..." He started saying while shaking his head. "You really should stop reading my texts, damn it." He said with a sigh.

"I wasn't even sure it was yours to begin with when I picked it up." She said harshly as she crossed her arms. "And I'm just…I don't know, disappointed? Pissed? Surprised? _Yes._ But most of all Damon I'm just hurt, because I really thought that this could work out. And I hate how you made me believe it until the very end. Boy if I was wrong." She said as she shook her head and bit her bottom lip to keep herself from having an outburst.

"What did you expect, honestly? For me to come back and get all cozy with one of the people who humiliated and hurt me the most in my whole life? Of course I was still angry and bitter at you when I first came back. But maybe it's just Karma you know. Maybe now you understand what being played means and how freaking much it hurts." He spat.

She flinched a little as she took in his words as if they were a huge slap in the face.

"I can't change what I did six years ago. I apologized to you and I thought that you understood how sorry I am. But you just manipulated me on purpose, willing to go way further than I ever did with you. You made fall for an illusion." She said as her voice cracked a little in the end and her eyes started filling up with hot tears.

He immediatly looked regretful and his face softened.

"I haven't talked with Katherine in weeks, Elena. I had planned on being an ass to you and making you suffer before coming back and seeing the proud strong woman that you've become. I meant it when I said that I want to give this a shot and that I regret having been so harsh on you." He said.

"Well I don't anymore. I don't want to give 'this' a shot." She said firmly as she started walking away.

"You are an hypocrite and a coward if you walk away from me now." He said and his voice stopped her on her tracks.

As she listened to his words, deep down she knew that he was probably right. She was hurt and in denial right now. She didn't believe him. But she also knew that she owed him a chance just like he did with her.

As she kept walking away and never looking back, she could feel that it was the wrong decision each step more away from him.

She stepped into the loud and massive crowd again but she felt more lost than she'd ever felt in a long time. As she went to head upstairs, she felt someone grabbing her hand.

"Elena." Mason said with a grin.

"Mason. You made it." She acknoweledged forcing a smile.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"I…I know that you just got here but would you mind taking me away? Bring me home, please." She said, her eyes silently begging him.

She didn't want to be here with Damon. Facing him and looking at him in the eyes would cause her to lose it and she couldn't afford that. She would leave her gift for Caroline in her bedroom and explain everything to her in a text or a call.

"Okay, no problem. Are you going to tell me what's wrong though?" Mason asked.

"I'm just not feeling very well and I don't want to ruin Caroline's party, that's it." She quickly lied as she headed upstairs to take her stuff.

She didn't even mind to change outfit as she threw in the bag the few things that she'd packed out when she arrived. She then looked at the bracelet that she was wearing and she couldn't stop a few tears from escaping when she thought about how good she had felt when Damon gave it to her. She had felt so special and taken care of. She thought about taking it off but something didn't let her. She was already fond of it even if she had been wearing it for only a few hours.

She went downstairs again and looked around trying not to be spotted by anyone she knew. She gave Mason a weak smile that he returned and they headed outside towards his car.

* * *

><p>As he stood there by the garden he felt every fiber of his being about to explode in anger. Just when things were going good something had to screw them up. Not only he had made a promise to himself to win Elena over and show her how he truly meant well with her, but also how did Katherine have the nerve to just text him all of a sudden and creep into his life again when he hadn't heard from her in weeks? He cursed himself for having talked about it with her in the first place. She was such a snake when it came to these things.<p>

Most of all though he was hurt. He did wrong by acting like a jerk with Elena and deep down he'd always known that he wasn't worthy of her, but why couldn't she understand that it was in the past too? After all he did with her. Couldn't she do the same? Maybe he didn't mean to her how much she meant to him.

He held his phone tightly in his hand for a few seconds and then immediatly dialed Katherine's number. He was done with her. He was done with all of them. He knew that letting himself care was going to bite him in the ass.

"Hello, lover." She purred seductively.

That's all she ever did anyway.

"Let me get to the point; I don't want you to call me or even text me for that matter _ever_ again. We're done, Katherine." He cut her off bluntly.

She gasped baffled and he was tempted to just hang up on her already.

"I beg you pardon?" She asked with a scoff.

"You heard me loud and clear, _lover_." He said nonchalantly.

"Why is that? Your insignificant little hometown is keeping you in chains?" She said with an evil little chuckle.

"Far from that. I just have my own reasons for wanting you out of my life. Goodbye Katherine." He said.

As he was about to hang up, she spoke up again.

"Oh..." She said knowingly and he could swear he could see the evil smirk on her face. "I think I've got this. It's because of that little bitch you told me about, isn't it? She made you fall for her bullshit all over again and you drowned in it like the fool you are." She provoked.

"The only bitch I know is you, and as I said, I don't to hear from you ever again. Have I made myself clear?" He threw back.

"Sure. But don't come and crawl back to me when she's going to break you heart all over again. Because you know it will happen. Goodbye, Damon." She said as she hung up.

She already broke it, he thought. And damn if he missed her already.

Were they over for good? Did that mean that she wouldn't be talking or looking at him anymore? Because just the thought of it was scaring the shit out of him, the pang in his chest confirming it.

He suddenly started walking towards the house searching for Elena. He headed upstairs racing in her room and his face fell when he saw that there was no sign of her whatsoever. Her bag and her stuff weren't there anymore and he wondered where she could be. Maybe she had changed room? He started walking in all the possible rooms to see if she was there but nothing.

Suddenly someone popped up in his mind. Mason.

Damon almost growled at the thought. She had probably ran into him and went away with him. He couldn't believe that she would do that after all they had just shared. The emotional talk and intimate moment.

He immediatly headed downstairs, in need of a drink. Something strong preferably.

He wanted to eye a pretty girl and fuck her until she saw stars, because that's how he usually lashed out when he was upset. Distracting himself just like he did with Andie the first few days he came back was his usual way. What was a better comfort than an attractive woman and some good sex?

The more he thought about it though and the more the thought just didn't do it for him. He realized that this time it probably wouldn't work out anyway. What was the point? It wouldn't change his feelings and his hurting.

He just wanted a woman and that woman was Elena.

As he noticed girls looking at him flirtly and giggling with their friends, he knew that he would usually feel cocky about it and pick one of them to have fun with. But for all he cared right now they could as well have been men. He didn't see them. They didn't do it for him. He just wanted to be Elena and see if she was doing okay. If he could fix it somehow.

He shouldn't have been so vengeful and resentful. She was one hell of a woman and he should have seen it from the start. Screw the past if it was going to ruin their present. There must have been a reason why he came back and they found each other. He usually didn't believe in this crap but with Elena he did. He felt uncomplete knowing that they weren't even friends anymore, let alone what they could have become.

He then spotted Jeremy in a corner, talking and laughing with a brunette.

"Jeremy?" He said as he approached them.

"Hey Damon what's up?" He asked casually. As he said it he noticed the brunette's eyes widening in understanding.

"You are Damon Salvatore?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Why?" He asked checking her out warily.

"Oh my god." She hissed. "I'm…I'm Bonnie. Bennet. Do you remember me?" She said with a little smile.

"How could I not. You're part of the holy trinity." He said, spilling it a little sarcastically.

"Elena told me about you before. Lots of things." She said with a knowing smile.

"Have you seen her?" He immediatly asked.

"She left the party about twenty minutes ago. Mason picked her up." Jeremy said.

Damon's eyes widened in shock even though it really wasn't. He knew Mason had something to do with it.

"Oh. Okay." He just said, trying to sound unaffected.

"Go to her." Bonnie mouthed, surprising him.

He acknoweledged it silently and nodded a little.

"Have fun guys." He said as he sped off upstairs.

He went into his room ready to pack his own bag and reach Elena's place when he realized that he didn't even have his car here. Shit. Damn Caroline and her idea of coming all together.

"Shit. Shit shit _shit_!" He muttered as he started pacing around the room.

Now what?

There had to be someone who could give him a ride to Mystic Falls. He had never thought in his life that he would reach such a low point of asking some drunky stranger to give him a ride from a random party to his own town, but there was a first time for everything, wasn't it?

He tried to call Stefan but he obviously wasn't answering. He headed downstairs once again to see if someone was already leaving and he was both surprised and hopeful when he saw Matt pulling his jacket on and bringing some stuff near the front door.

"Going somewhere?" He asked casually.

"Yeah I gotta get back to Mystic Falls and bring some stuff there. I need to get rid of some of Caroline's gifts and leave them at her place or there won't be room for anyone in that car tomorrow." He said with a chuckle. "Why?" He then asked when he noticed Damon still unmoving and serious.

"I need a ride. I have to get back too." He said.

"Of course man. But can I ask you why? Are you feeling sick?" He asked.

"No nothing like that. I just need to…take care of some things." He said with a shrug.

"Okay then." Matt said a little confused. "I'll wait for you outside in five minutes."

"Perfect." He said.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for the ride Mason." Elena said with a smile as she unbuckled her belt. "But…I actually need talk to you." She then said hesitantly.<p>

"It was no big deal Elena. I would do a lot more than you can imagine for you." He said as he smiled taking her hand. "Sorry, go ahead."

She sighed a little as she eyed their hands and slowly pulled it out of his grasp, earning a confused look from him.

"Mason, you are a great guy and I like you. But this can't go on anymore and I'm really sorry if I'm hurting your feelings." She explained quietly.

His eyes widened in shock and his mouth fell open a couple of times but anything came out.

"You're kidding, right?" He then asked with a hard laugh.

"I'm not." Elena said with a sad expression. "I've been thinking about it for the whole way here and I just want to be honest with you. I don't want to deceive you."

"Is there someone else?" He suddenly asked.

She gave him a guilty look and his face angered instantly.

"I wish you could have told me earlier, don't you think?" He suddenly spat. "I mean you ask me to bring you home just so you can dump me? Screw you, Elena."

She gasped a little in surprise and her expression hardened.

"I said that I'm sorry, okay? What else do you expect me to do pretending to act on something that isn't there?" She said sternly.

"Talk for yourself!" He yelled making her flinch. "You set me up. You used me and then dumped me like dirt. You little whore." He then said, his eyes full of anger.

"Goodbye Mason." She quickly said as she went to get out of the car.

All of a sudden he seemed to have lost it and she started feeling scared of what he might do.

"You're not going anywhere." He said harshly as he grabbed her arm tightly.

"Let go of me!" Elena said as she struggled to get out of his grasp.

"No you listen to me. No one plays with me, do you understand me? I'm Mason freaking Lockwood and you're a little piece of crap who thinks of having everyone wrapped around her little finger." He said as he held her arm tigther. "So you're not going to treat me like I am shit. You're not dumping me, I am dumping you."

"You've got issues Mason. Now get off me before I start screaming." She said firmly giving him a harsh look.

He slowly let go, still glaring at her angrily.

She quickly took her bag and as she got out of the car and reached the door her heart was beating so fast that it almost hurt when she started fumbling through her purse to find her keys. Luckily Mason had already driven off and as she finally found the keys she opened the door, immediatly closing it behind her.

Her arm was still aching and throbbing from his strong grip. She had let herself be fooled by a worthless douchebag who even manhandled her and she had walked away from the person she should and wanted to be with right now.

She clutched at the bracelet that Damon gave her and brought it to her heart, letting a few tears escape as she sobbed quietly.

* * *

><p>Matt dropped him off at his apartment and Damon thanked him more than once, letting him know that he owed him one. He had really come in handy. Luckily by the time they drove off the lake house it was pretty late and the road was almost empty, so they had managed to get back in Mystic Falls in nearly fifty minutes.<p>

He just had to leave his stuff inside and then he would go straight at Elena's. He knew that it was late and that she would still be upset, and that maybe she probably didn't even want to hear from him anymore, but he had to give it a shot. It had only been a few hours and he already felt miserable without her.

Damon realized that she would always have a major impact on his feelings and in his life no matter where they ended up, and that both scared and thrilled him.

As he headed inside and looked around he felt like he didn't want to be there at all. It was a pretty cool and comfortable apartment, but suddenly the lonliness that he'd never minded during all those years started affecting him. Or maybe it was just the fact that he'd rather be with Elena right now.

He left his stuff in his room and took a quick shower changing in fresh clothes before he headed out again.

"So you're home." A sudden voice made him jump as he stepped outside.

He turned around just to find Andie leaning against a wall, dressed in her usual and impeccable reporter outfit.

"What are you doing here Andie?" He asked warily.

"You didn't return any of my calls." She said in a stern tone, stepping in front of him.

"No kidding." He said sarcastically giving her a tight smile as he tried to walk past her.

"I just took off from work and I thought about stopping by. I really thought that something happened to you and I was worried…but apparently you're more than fine." She said a little annoyed.

"I am." He nodded. "Now if you will excuse me…"

"Why didn't you return my calls? I believed you liked me." She said crossing her arms.

"You're annoying me." He suddenly said with a big roll of eyes. "We had sex. It was fun. Now it's over." He scoffed matter of factly as he started to walk away.

"Oh, really?" She said as she brought her body closer to his, her face inches from his as her hand dared to go lower.

For a moment he was tempted to go back to his old ways and just say screw it. So far caring and opening his heart gave him nothing but pain, so why even bothering? It would be much easier to give in and just forget about everything. But the truth was that he couldn't. Not anymore. Even just the thought of having a meaningless one night thing didn't appeal him at all.

For Christ's sake, he was a man and Andie's hand was pratically reaching his crotch. Still all he could think about was Elena. Elena. _Elena_.

Would it ever stop?

"Really." He said firmly as he pushed her away.

She looked baffled and surprised as she stomped her foot.

"You're seeing someone else aren't you?" She asked, her voice high.

"It's none of your business." He smirked.

Elena was right when she kept telling that Andie was nothing but a fake bimbo. She was also right about her boobs being fake, anyways…

"Then I guess I'll see you around, asshole." She said as she walked away in her high heels and her chin up.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes at her being so dramatic. He walked towards his own car and as he stepped in and started driving, his only hope was that Elena was willing to hear him out.

They still had their issues that obviously wouldn't disappear in a heartbeat. But they could work on it and make _them_ work.

He was relieved when he saw that her car was there, meaning that she probably was home. It was nearly midnight but at the moment he couldn't care less. He had to see her now.

He rang the doorbell firmly and he noticed that a soft light was on upstairs. She had to be up.

He kept ringing and he then sighed when she wouldn't open.

"Elena, I know you're here. Open up please." He shouted calmly.

He rang again growing impatient and he growled in frustration.

He then felt his phone buzzing and he knotted his eyebrows when he picked it and noticed that it was a text from Elena.

_- The spare key is in the pot on the left. Take it. -_

He kept feeling confused but he was glad that she was at least letting him in. He found the key right away and he then hesitantly opened the front door.

"Elena?" He called once in the house, frowning when he noticed that it was completely dark downstairs. "I get that you're mad at me but this is not the right time to play hide and seek to be honest."

He put his hands on his hips and sighed quietly trying to look around.

"I'm up here." He heard her voice calling.

He headed upstairs and as he entered her room he found her in her bed, curled up on her side and her face looking numb as she stared ahead of her.

The only light that was on in the room was the one on her nightstand.

He approached her quietly and hesitantly as he then kneeled in front of her.

"Hey." He said smiling softly.

"Hey." She said back, attempting a smile.

He frowned a little when he saw her puffy eyes.

"Have you been crying?" He asked as his thumb gently laid on her cheek.

"A little." She admitted.

"I really am an immature jackass, aren't I?" He said frustrated with himself. "I'm so sorry."

The smile on her face suddenly became a little brighter as her doe eyes stared up at him.

"No you're not. And I'm sorry too…I overreacted." She said as she placed her hand over his on her cheek.

He smiled at her as he started caressing her hand with his thumb and he then leaned in tentatively to give her a soft peck on the lips. He rested his forehead against hers and thought that he could stare into her beautiful big doe eyes all day long.

"I've been miserable ever since we fought. Forgive me?" She said shyly.

This time he kissed her more firmly and rapidly, craving to feel her lips on his again. She kissed him back and they just lost themselves in the moment.

"No you forgive me, silly. I'm the screwed up one here." He said as he rubbed his noise against hers.

"We really can't stay away from each other though, can we." She said chuckling a little.

"We're needy like this I guess." He said with a shrug as he chuckled too.

He just stood there for a few moments, staring into her eyes and occasionally stealing a kiss.

"Are you okay? I don't like seeing you upset." He said frowning.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired." She said as she tried to straighten herself up a little.

He noticed her arm giving up a little and her face grimacing in pain as she tried to do so, but he decided to shrug it off.

She kept looking at him with a happy content smile though and he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"Come here." She said patting the spot next to her on the bed.

He grinned like a chesire cat at the thought of being so close to her and he didn't think about it twice. He quickly took off his shoes and his leather jacket and slipped in next to her.

He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled close to him, lying her head and her hand on his chest.

"I'm so glad you're here Damon." She said, looking up at him intently. "I can't believe you left the party just to get here. How did you come back anyway?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Matt gave me a ride. He had to come back too so I took the opportunity." He said with a shrug.

She chuckled a little and he started stroking her hair softly. They stayed quiet for a few minutes until he spoke up again.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked quietly.

"Who is Katherine?" She then asked hesitantly after a few moments.

"An acquaintance from Chicago." He said casually.

"By the text she sent you she seemed to be a little more than an acquaintance." Elena said pointedly, raising an eyebrow.

"Well..._that_ kind of acquaintance, you know."

"You're such a gigolo." She said with a giggle.

"I'm not." He defended with a scoff.

"You are, but you're _my_ gigolo. Deal?" She said kissing the crook of his neck.

"Deal." He said with a smile, facing her.

"So you don't want to talk about her? Is she someone important?" Elena then asked, all of a sudden worried about his response.

"There's nothing to say about her." He started saying. "We met about an year and a half ago at a conference and since then we started dating on and off. It's never been something serious though, believe me. I made a mistake when I told her about my life in Mystic Falls…and you." He said quietly.

"Oh. Okay." Elena acknoweledged not really knowing what to say.

He said that it was nothing serious but still he would go back to Chicago and Katherine would be there. She didn't want to rub more salt on the wound tonight, but it was something that they definitely needed to discuss. She couldn't allow herself to start loving him if she knew that they weren't going anywhere.

"What about you and Matt? Didn't you two date in highschool? It must be awkward to see him with Caroline." He said thoughtfully.

"Oh no, trust me." Elena said chuckling. "Matty and I were kind of an innocent first love. He and Caroline are the real deal."

"And you never found your real deal?" He then asked, his eyes glimmering as he looked into hers.

"Maybe I did." She whispered looking up at him with the same glimmer.

She then yawned a little as she wrapped her arms tighter around his chest and closed her eyes breathing in his scent.

She purred like a cat when he started stroking her hair and he chuckled softly.

"We've come so far." She suddenly said. "You were cold as ice with me and now here you are warming me up." She said chuckling.

"I was wrong." He said.

"You were keeping yourself from getting hurt and I respect you for that. I know what it feels like. But I kinda hated how stubborn and arrogant you were at first." She said raising her eyebrows as she started caressing his arm lovingly.

"Yeah…I can really be awful when I want to." He said regretfully.

"Well I didn't buy your shit, so here we are." She said with a content sigh.

"I get that you're in bed with Damon Salvatore and all but don't get too cocky now." He said with an amused tone.

"Oh shut up." She groaned rolling her eyes.

He did shut up by cutting her off with an urgent kiss and she lingered a little on top of him kissing him back and running her hands through his black hair, earning a satisfied purr from him.

Kissing Damon was addicting and she already couldn't get enough of him. They finally pulled apart and they looked at each other with knowing smiles.

"I'm glad we cleared things up. I'm so sorry Elena." He whispered as he kissed her cheek tenderly.

"You already said that." She said with a soft smile as she stroked his cheek with the same tenderness.

"And I really really mean it." He said now kissing her hand.

She settled her head onto his chest again and sighed quietly. She suddenly felt her arm still being a little sore but she decided not to tell Damon. He would probably freak out and pick up a fight with Mason and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." She then asked timidly.

His heart skipped a beat when she said it and he looked down at her with a reassuring smile and a nod.

"Of course." He said kissing her forehead.

As she fell asleep into his arms he realized that maybe he had found his real deal too.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing and putting this story to the alerts & favorites! You guys rock! :)**

**I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

><p>Not that she was complaining, but Damon had held her tight and securely in his arms all night and it had been the most peaceful sleep she'd had in a very long time. She felt at ease and protected, his breathing and his body against her own relaxing her. Eventually during the night he had stripped out of his shirt and when he was unconscious she'd been running her hand up and down his strong muscled arm.<p>

He really was a God.

He looked so boyish and innocent while sleeping that she'd actually spent one hour just staring at him and feeling all kind of butterflies fly in her stomach. She was so happy that everything turned out just fine and that they were both willing to give this a shot. She thought that she was going to be more stubborn but she couldn't care less about it, if that meant losing the only chance she had with Damon. Especially not when he had opened up to her and decided to trust her and let her in.

Elena had woken up during the night and she wasn't able to fall asleep anymore. With all the staring at Damon and the thinking, it was nearly dawn.

She felt awful for lying to him and not telling him about Mason, but she didn't want to upset him or make him lose it and then regret it after the damage was done. She knew that if he ever found out though he would be pissed.

What really scared her was that he would probably go back to Chicago permanently at some point and she would be all alone again. And this time it would be even worse, because in her lonliness she would lose Damon. After all he had his life and his job in Chicago. She didn't want to get in the way. Although if she really meant so much to him as he claimed she did, wouldn't he be willing to stay? He had Stefan and Maria too here. Weren't they a reason enough? She knew that she was being paranoid and that it was probably too soon to even open the subject but she wasn't really sure that she could handle Damon leaving.

She decided not to think about it for the moment and just let it be. She wrapped herself in his arms again like a safe cocoon and fell asleep sighing contently.

As she woke up this time it was nearly ten o'clock and she stirred a little. She then noticed that the spot next to her was empty and a sudden feeling of hurt filled her. Did he leave without saying goodbye? Or worse did he regret spending the night?

When she saw that his leather jacket was still on the chair and his phone on her nightstand, she immediatly calmed down.

She got up and headed towards the bathroom, taking a quick cold shower and then putting on some clothes as she brushed her teeth and hair.

As she headed downstairs she immediatly smelled waffles and she smiled happily. Usually when she got up she didn't have the time to get a proper good meal since most of the times she had to hurry at the Grill, and even during her days off she was still too lazy.

Her smile became a grin when she saw Damon standing by the stove, looking dashing as always even in the morning.

His hair was messy and his shirt a little wrinkled but he still managed to look perfect. She got closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, making him turn around in surprise.

"Well good morning sleepyhead." He said grinning.

"It really is a good morning." She grinned back, wrapping her arms around his waist. "At what time did you get up? Don't tell me you're a morning person."

"I am, actually." He said chuckling. "I woke up an hour ago and after spending most of it watching you sleep I decided to be useful." He said with a shrug.

"Good boy." She said patting his head as she chuckled too.

He captured her lips in a playful kiss as he nibbled at her bottom lip and their tongues danced together. He earned a moan from her and he smiled cockily.

"_Now_ it really is a good morning." He said smirking.

By the time he was settling the waffles on the counter he saw Elena pratically drooling as she stared in awe at them.

"It seems like you're starving." He said eyeing her amused as she digged in the food, adding some whipped cream and more syrup on them.

"I am. And I don't usually have good breakfasts like this." She said with her mouth still fool.

"It's just waffles." He said chuckling amused and smiling at her sweetly as he stroked her hair.

"I know." She said kind of embarassed.

She finished quickly and he insisted on letting him settle the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up. She seemed surprised when he did those little things for her and he realized that she really didn't have someone taking care of her as she deserved to be.

He found her sitting on the couch in the living room with a blanket on her legs as she texted on her phone.

He ploppled down on the couch next to her and smiled when he saw her immediatly getting closer to him and putting her head on his shoulder.

She seemed a lot touchy-feely and he still had to get used to it. He had never really shared such kind of intimacy and it was new to him.

"So what are you up to today?" He asked casually.

"I'm meeting Caroline and Bonnie at the Grill for lunch, work in the afternoon and then at the Boarding House later in the evening. You?" She said looking up at him.

"Waiting for you to find some time for me in all of it." He said pouting his adorable pout.

She chuckled amused and kissed it away.

"You should hang out with Stefan. He misses you, you know. It would be good for you two to spend some time together. Bonding and everything." She said giving him an encouraging smile.

"I think I will." He said with a nod. "About that, I need to ask you a favor…" He then said hesitantly.

"Spill." She said giving him a wary look.

"Can we keep us a secret a little longer?" He said.

"Why? I thought you were sure about this?" She immediatly asked, worry crossing her face.

"I am, love." He told her reassuringly stroking her cheek. "But Stefan isn't. He thinks I'm just playing you and that I'm not being serious about whatever he thinks it is between us. He told me. So I don't want to start on the wrong foot and let him give me a lecture."

"Oh…okay. But we do are exclusive, right?" She then asked still a little worried.

She looked so naive and adorable that he decided to play her for a little.

"Well, I don't know..." He said sighing dramatically.

She went pale for a moment but as soon as that evil cocky smirk of his appeared on his face she growled and swatted his arm.

Suddenly a mischevious smile appeared on his face as he brought her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist possessively.

"Of course we are. I wouldn't want it any other way." He whispered as he started kissing her neck.

"Good." She said moaning as she threw her head back a little as he reached her jawline.

She moaned even louder when she started rubbing herself over his hardness.

The front door suddenly bursting open made her fall off the couch and she scratched her head when it hit the floor.

"Crap." She whispered to herself.

"What the hell man?" Jeremy said with a confused expression as he marched over Damon.

He then looked over at Elena on the floor and his eyes widened in understanding.

Damon helped her up and she couldn't help a chuckle as she saw Damon's expression and then Jeremy's shocked one.

"Hey Jer." She said attempting an awkward smile.

Jeremy kept glancing between her and Damon in confusion and she knew that one of them had to explain.

"Damon uhm he spent the night here. He was just leaving." She said quickly.

"Yeah I probably should get going." He said awkwardly as he headed upstairs to grab his stuff.

She looked over at him in amusement as he walked upstairs but she recomposed as soon as she saw Jeremy's glare.

He had always been very protective of her but he could also be a pain in the ass.

"Care to explain?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"He came here last night. He _slept_ here and that's it. Seriously Jer what's the matter?" She said crossing her arms suddenly feeling annoyed at his persistence.

"So that's why he was all frantic to know where you were last night." He then noted thoughtfully with a little smile.

"He was?" She asked surprised.

"Oh yeah. He couldn't stop looking for you. He talked to me and Bonnie."

"Bonnie met him?" Elena asked not able to keep a laugh.

"Yup. And she kept saying how handsome he was and all this crap you girls say." Jeremy said rolling his eyes.

Elena shook her head in amusement and made a mental note to talk with Bonnie later.

"By the way, would you mind keeping this for yourself? We…don't want to go public just yet." She said quietly.

"I'm not one of your gossip girls friends 'Lena. I won't talk about it, chill." Jeremy said chuckling.

He then headed towards the kitchen and she waited at the bottom of the stairs for Damon. He came downstairs a few moments later and she smiled as she walked him to the door.

She already missed him and he still hadn't left the house. If it was up to her she would have stayed with him all day long.

"Thank you for staying last night. It really meant a lot to me." She said as she took his hands in hers and entwined their fingers.

"Anytime." He whispered kissing her forehead.

"I already miss you and you still haven't left. I'm too needy, aren't I?" She said with a pout as she rested her forehead against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He chuckled softly as he embraced her and kissed the top of her head.

"Then I guess we both are because I'm going to miss you too." He said. "But I'll see you tonight at the Boarding House right?"

"Yes I'm coming over for dinner. No PDA is allowed though, remember?" She said with a pointed look and a giggle as she looked up at him.

"Mmh, right. So let's make the best out of it now." He whispered as he tenderly cupped her cheeks and gave her a passionate kiss.

She immediatly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back vehemently. They finally pulled back and smiled at each other.

"I'll see you later." He said before kissing her cheek and heading towards his car.

She watched him go and then went upstairs to get ready for her date with Bonnie and Caroline.

* * *

><p>When she arrived at the Grill she found them already sitting at a table and as she walked towards it she waved at them with a smile.<p>

It was always kind of strange to go at the Grill for a casual date. Most of the time she spent there was usually work.

She greeted them with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and slid in the booth in front of theirs.

"How are you feeling? I've read your text only after midnight and I was so drunk I didn't even have the strenght to reply. I'm so sorry Elena." Caroline said with a guilty look.

She was about to spill everything and tell them about Damon coming over and them making up but she suddenly remembered his words about not telling anyone. And as much as she wanted to give in and squeal with her best friends about the new found relationship she stayed quiet.

"Oh I'm fine Care. I'm sorry I missed half of the party. I just had this terrible migraine and I didn't want to ruin it for you." She said casually.

Bonnie kept giving her knowing looks and Elena grew suspicious.

"Please." Caroline said with a roll of eyes. "I know that you hate those kind of parties anyway sweetie."

"True that." Elena said chuckling.

"How did you get back though?" Caroline asked confused.

"Turned out that Mason could make it so I asked him to bring me home." She said with a sigh. "I ended things between us though. I was not really into him."

As she remembered him and how scared he'd made her feel last night her heart immediatly skipped a beat. She just hoped he would get the hell back to Florida and never come back.

Caroline's jaw dropped a little and she looked at Elena astonished.

"No you didn't." She said.

"Yes I did." Elena confirmed again.

"Oh my god, why? He was so handsome and nice. Is it because of Damon?" She then asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Elena immediatly blushed and this time her heart skipped a beat for completely different reasons as she thought about him.

"Well yes kind of but we still have to sort things out…that's all I can say." She said quickly, not really wanting to get into the subject.

"I met him last night. Good lord if he's gorgeous Elena." Bonnie said, her eyes widening as she said so. "You're one lucky bitch you know."

They all chuckled a little and even though she started feeling a little guilty for keeping the details she didn't say a word about it.

One of the waitress came by to take their orders and they all ordered a burger with coke.

"What about you Bon? You were all over JerBear last night." Caroline said laughing.

Bonnie glared at her causing Caroline to stop.

"Would you stop calling him that? We used to call him that way when we were in highschool. He's just three years younger than us okay, so what?" She asked defensively as she crossed her arms.

"Oh my gosh Bonnie. I can't believe you really made a move on my baby brother." Elena said rolling her eyes and buring her head in her hands.

"I did." She said proudly. "We're actually going out tomorrow night."

Elena shook her head in amusement and shock at Bonnie's crush on Jeremy and even though she found it a little odd she could actually see them together. Jeremy had grown up a lot ever since he came back and Bonnie would be so good for him.

As their food arrived they kept talking about everything and nothing at all, laughing occasionally when Caroline told some funny stories about last night.

"So…" She then started with that one, and Elena knew that nothing good was coming out of it.

They were sharing a slice of chocolate cake and Caroline kept fidgeting with the fork as she tried to make her question.

"What Caroline?" Elena asked pointedly.

"_If_ you and Damon start dating officially, well...isn't it time for you know what, honey?" She said tentatively.

They were so not going to talk about this right now, she thought as she understood where Caroline was going.

"It's too soon to talk about it anyways." She said with a blush, trying to avoid the argument.

"Well I'm just saying." Caroline pushed shrugging.

"Caroline just let her be and don't be so pushy." Bonnie said sighing defeatedly.

Elena looked at Bonnie thanking her silently and she just smiled.

"Okay, whatever…" Caroline grumbled quietly.

They finished eating and Elena got ready for her usual shift of the afternoon as Bonnie left saying that she had to take some stuff at her dad's and Caroline had to visit her mother.

Hours passed by pretty fastly as all she could think about was Damon's face, Damon's smile, Damon's eyes, Damon's hair, Damon's kisses, Damon's…

A customer's voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts and she immediatly recomposed herself.

She took off at seven o'clock and she was exhausted when she got to the Boarding House. All afternoon had been a lot busy and she'd had literally fifteen minutes to change and take off. Although she had promised Maria that she would be there tonight so they could talk since they hadn't in a while. Maria valued their relationship a lot and Elena was grateful for it. During the years she'd started being almost like a second mother to her. Plus she wanted to see Damon no matter the circumstances.

She entered quietly and headed towards the kitchen when she heard talking and laughing from there.

"Hi." She said sheepishly leaning against the door frame as she looked at Damon, Stefan, and Maria having some family time.

"Elena dear." Maria said immediatly reaching for her and pulling her into a tight hug. "How have you been doing? You will excuse me if I've neglected you in the last few weeks. Stefan sure told you about the issues we've had, right?"

"Yes he did, and you don't have to worry Maria. I actually would be glad to help you if you need anything at all." She said smiling.

"Oh don't you even think about it. You already do so much. You work at the Grill almost every day and I've heard that your brother is back is that right?" She said stroking her arm lovingly.

"He is." Elena nodded.

Her eyes then shifted on Damon who was holding a glass of wine and had been staring at her for the whole time with that mischevious smirk of his. She smirked back slightly and then went to greet Stefan.

"El, I'm so glad you could make it." He said hugging her. "Are you okay? Caroline said that you weren't feeling so well last night."

"I'm fine Stef...it was nothing, just a headache." She quickly shrugged off. "What about you and Rebekah?" She then asked with a curious smile.

He scratched his head uncomfortably and blushed a little and Elena started chuckling. He was so clumsy.

"It was good I guess. Not so much happened but I'm feeling positive about it." He said with convinction.

"That's great." Elena said with a soft smile stroking his back.

Maria was at the counter chopping some vegetables with Damon helping her and Elena smiled at the sight they made. She was so happy that things were turning out for the best.

And she couldn't help but notice the big resemblance that she and Damon had. They had the same hair, the same jawline, and their eyes were the same ocean blue too. Maria was still a stunning woman and Damon definitely got all his beauty from her.

"Stefan?" Maria called, turning her head slightly. "Come here you lazy boy and help me peel these tomatoes. How come you never help me in the kitchen?"

Elena chuckled amused when Stefan rolled his eyes and groaned annoyed.

"I'm coming ma." He said as he took Damon's place.

He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and Elena licked her lips as she looked at his arms and remembered him shirtless.

He winked at her and she felt tingles all over her skin as she grinned, gesturing at him with her head to get in the parlor.

"Damon!" She said squealing as quiet as she could when he picked her up bridal style and spinned her around a little.

"I missed you today." He whispered kissing her urgently.

"Mmm…me too." She said closing her eyes and sighing softly as he gave her little pecks all over her face.

He put her down after a while and they went sitting on the couch.

"What did you do today? Did you hang out with Stefan?" She asked as she ran a hand through his soft black hair.

"I did. I actually had a good time, and you were right…I miss my brother and I don't want us to get estranged again." He said thoughtfully.

"That's good Damon. I know you really care about him and your relationship. He looks up to you." She said smiling, shifting closer to him.

"Thank you Elena." He said taking her hand and kissing it. "You've been challenging me ever since I came back and I owe you a lot. If it wasn't for you I don't know if I would have had the braveness to be here right now. I know I gave you a hard time and I'm so glad you still looked through it."

"Damon I…" She started saying when Maria interrupted them and they quickly pulled apart.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but dinner's served." Maria said with a somewhat amused smile.

Elena's mouth fell open and so did her face and she saw Damon having the same reaction.

"Oh you can stop pretending dears." Maria chuckled with a roll of eyes. "I've been around long enough to tell when there's something going on." She added with a wink.

"Well…" Elena said a little uncomfortably, scratching her head. "We would have told you guys but Damon was a little reclutant."

She saw him glaring at her and she mouthed a 'sorry' with a cringe.

"My boy has always been crazy about you. It's no wonder that sparks would fly with you two soon enough. He seems whipped already." She said chuckling.

"Mom!" Damon said incredulously, his eyes widening.

She could swear that she'd seen him blush slightly and she giggled softly.

"What? You could have been more sneaky about it. The hickey on your neck sure isn't helping." She said shrugging.

Elena blushed immediatly as soon as she noticed it and Damon rolled his eyes cursing under his breath.

"Don't start giving me a lecture ma." He said.

"I love Elena, son. You couldn't have chosen a better girl for yourself." She said smiling knowingly.

They shared a look and she felt the usual butterflies in her stomach when he did his eye-thing that she loved and hated so much.

Just then Stefan joined them looking a little confused.

"What did I miss?" He asked knotting his eyebrows.

"Just your brother and Elena trying to play dumb about their relationship. Little did they know that I always know better." Maria said with a grin which faded as soon as she saw Stefan looking stiff and serious.

"For god's sake, Damon." He said sternly shaking his head. "You just couldn't back the fuck off, could you?"

"Stefan!" Maria gasped baffled.

"NO!" He yelled. "Don't you understand? He's going to leave us again not looking back as he already did. And now he even had to have Elena because what he wants he gets, right?"

"Stefan calm down!" Maria said. "This isn't any of your business anyways and what Damon _and_ Elena decide to do it's on them. Why are you even so mad about it?"

"Because I don't want him to break her heart like he did with us." He said harshly before throwing the cloth that he was holding on the floor and walking out of the door, slamming it loudly.

Heavy silence filled the room as no one knew what to say.

Damon wanted to speak up and reassure him that he would never break Elena's heart, but was that what most people assumed? What _they _assumed? That he would just walk out on them? He suddenly realized that maybe even though they did forgive him the trust still wasn't there. But what about Elena? He would hate knowing that she even thought about the remote possibility of him leaving her. Now that he finally had her he would _never_ let her go as long as she wanted him to stay. What his mother said was right, the truth was that she had him whipped for her. She always had.

The problem had never been his mother and Stefan. And he knew that. So why the sudden outburst?

He looked down kind of ashamed not really knowing what to say as Elena crossed her arms over her chest and stayed quiet too.

Maria kneeled to take the cloth that Stefan had thrown from the floor and she sighed quietly as she started fidgeting with it.

"I better go find him. I'm sure he didn't want to snap at you Damon." She said smiling weakly.

He walked towards his mother and took her hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

"I'm not leaving you again." He said firmly, looking at her in the eyes.

"I know." She whispered, tears filling her eyes.

She squeezed his hand back and then started walking towards the door, knowing full well where she would find Stefan.

Damon stood there feeling guilty and thoughtful until he felt Elena kissing his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay Damon. You just have to give it time." She said reassuringly, making him turn around.

"I was a fool thinking that I would come back and that it would all be the same again. They hate me." He said quietly.

"They don't, baby. Of course they don't." Elena said full of convinction. "Once you told me that the worst part was yet to come and this is it. You just have to fight for it and not give up."

He suddenly pulled her into a tight desperate embrace and she was surprised at the gesture. Usually she was always the one hugging him first and he didn't seem very fond of the act itself.

He held her close to his body and she wrapped her arms around his waist pulling him closer too.

"You are an amazing woman Elena, you know that right? You're one of the bravest people I know. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He whispered.

"So are you Damon. Believe me." She said squeezing him.

With Damon in her life she felt whole again. A feeling that she didn't quite have since her parents death. She felt hopeful and loved and it was all on him.

They suddenly remembered that before it all happened dinner was ready so they headed into the kitchen and grabbed some pasta even though it had become pretty cold by now. They then cleaned up in a comfortable silence and as they finished Damon went into the parlor to start a fire.

He filled himself a glass of bourbon and ploppled on the couch. With his big surprise he saw Elena filling herself a glass of bourbon too and he smiled amused.

"Wow, I didn't see that coming." He said chuckling as he tucked her under his arm and placed a blanket on her legs.

"I have my alcoholic moments too you know." She said.

He kept chuckling and then they grew quiet for a few long minutes, just enjoying each other's company and thinking.

"Damon." Elena suddenly said, straightening herself a little to look at him in the eyes. "I…I mean…what Stefan said…" She started saying nervously, in a loss of words.

Damon kept looking at her with an expectant look and she took a deep breath before speaking up again.

"What are we doing here, exactly? I didn't mean to bring the elephant in the room just now but…I can't keep it to myself anymore. Are you going to leave again and stay in Chicago permanently? Because honestly, I couldn't take it. Sue me if I'm selfish but I don't want you to. I want you here. With me. Everyday. _Please_ tell me you're going to stay." She was almost begging in the end, her eyes silently screaming at him the words as they filled up with tears a little.

She didn't care if she sounded desperate, that was the utter truth. She suddenly felt a lump in her throat at the thought that he might reject her and tell her that he would go back anyway. She knew she would lose it.

He slowly placed his glass on the table by the fireplace, getting closer to her as he looked at her with a look that screamed adoration and disbelief.

Her heart was racing so fast right now that she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.

He gave her a soft vulnerable smile before he cupped her smooth cheeks gently, stroking them lovingly with his thumbs.

He kissed her softly and slowly, just enjoying the sensation of her lips matching on his.

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, his ocean blue eyes gazing into her doe ones.

He knew which words he wanted to speak. He knew what was the first reason that he would give her but he didn't want to freak her out so he kept them for himself.

"Really?" She asked with a tentative smile.

"Really, baby. I'm going to stay until you tell me to go. I promise you." He said as he pulled her in his lap and she locked her legs around his waist.

"Oh Damon." She cried as she threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. "I don't _ever_ want you to go. So you're stuck with me." She then said chuckling.

"I'm stuck in a very good position." He said as he waggled his eyebrows.

She blushed and swatted his arm.

"Be serious." She said giving him a pointed look. "But what about your job? And your house and everything else?"

"I had actually planned on moving back in Mystic Falls permanently for a while now. My apartment can easily and fastly be sold anyways. It's in a very fancy neighborhood and trust me there are plenty of people who would buy it in a heartbeat. And I thought about taking a sabbatic from work and just focus on what I have to do here. Then I can restart working on my own or something like that, I still haven't thought about that." He said shrugging.

She smiled at him but then gave him a guilty look.

"Are you sure about this Damon? It's a huge change and I don't want you to regret it someday." She said biting her lip.

"There is nothing for me there anyway Elena. Plus I want to stay here with _you_ and fix things with my mother and Stefan. This is home." He nodded.

"I'm happy." She said smiling widely and kissing him again.

He grinned back at her before he thought about something else.

"I was thinking for this weekend…" He started saying, studying her reaction. "I want to take you out on a real date. I was thinking about this pretty cool place that's a little out of town and then maybe we could spend the night at the lake house since it's nearby. What do you think?" He said casually.

Elena immediatly stiffened in his arms and he could feel that she'd tensed up.

"I don't know Damon…" She started, biting her bottom lip.

She quickly stood up and he groaned at the loss of her warm body against his.

"What you don't know? Do you already have plans?" He asked.

"I…no. Well yes. Kinda." She said as she started pacing around the room.

"Slow down Elena you're making my head spin." He joked and she suddenly stopped in front of him, crossing her arms.

He could see that she was still flustered though and he knotted his eyebrows in confusion. Did he say something wrong?

"If you don't want to go it's fine…just tell me." He said even if slightly hurt.

He was looking at her searching for a reaction and she then took a deep breath, finally speaking.

"Fine. I don't want to go." She said.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: First of, thank you guys for keep on being so supportive and nice! :P** **I love reading what you think so please keep it coming.**

**And I'm sorry if some of you were upset or confused at the end of the last chapter, LOL. I actually did give a hint in between the chapter that just a few seem to have catched though... :D *claps hands at them* Well anyway you'll find out soon enough!**

**Thank you for reading & Please review!**

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><p>As soon as she spoke the words she could see the hurt and surprise crossing his face almost immediatly. She didn't mean to be so blunt and hurt his feelings, but she also felt like she couldn't lie to him about it. She couldn't sneak around it forever anyway.<p>

It's not like she didn't want to go for the fact itself, it was about what spending a weekend together and _alone_ at the lake house could lead to.

God only knew how much she still wanted to keep it for herself for now, but lying more to him just wasn't an option. He didn't deserve it. She had to tell him sooner or later either way. It just happened sooner, even if she wasn't thrilled about it.

Only Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan knew about this and she hoped that Damon was going to be the last to know.

She just had to find the guts and the way to tell him. Of all people she could have dated, she never quite expected to end up with an _hopefully_ ex-womanizer like Damon. It sure as hell wasn't making it any easier on her.

"It's not you." She immediatly told him as she kept pacing in front of him. "It's me."

"That sounds a little cliché." He muttered still feeling wary.

"But it's the truth." She said as she stood still, sighing heavily.

"Elena just tell me what is it. If you want to go somewhere else it's not a problem." He pressed.

"Oh god." She said buring her head in her hands as she sat on the armchair. "I knew this day had to come…I just didn't expect it to be so awkward and difficult."

He knotted his eyebrows growing confused as he stood up and walked towards her. She seemed flustered and torn about whatever it was and he was dying to know. She knew that she could tell him everything, right? If something was bothering her she could talk about it with him. She had to. She could always confide in him, not making him feel more paranoid than she seemed to be herself.

"If you won't tell me, I can't know what's wrong and I really want to." He said softly as he kneeled in front of her.

He was putting all the effort he could to make her feel comfortable and not freak out himself.

She looked down at him in the eyes, a mix of worry and shyness behind her own.

"Can you promise not to judge me? Or mock me? Or laugh at me?" She said still holding his gaze.

He wanted to laugh at her cuteness but that was exactly what she told him not to do, so he avoided it.

He took her hands in his and squeezed them as he entwined their fingers.

"Promise." He nodded with a soft smile. "Even a pinky one, if you want to."

She chuckled a little and he was glad to see her starting to relax.

"Fill me a glass of bourbon or whiskey and get in here." She said with a sigh as she patted the spot next to her on the big armchair.

He gave her a strange look as he went to fill her a glass of bourbon, mixing it with some water. She'd already drank before and he didn't want to get her wasted. Elena didn't really seem the drinking type.

"Here." He said as he handed it to her, then settling on the armchair next to her.

She took a sip from the drink smiling at him sheepishly as she started talking.

"I told you about the accident with my parents, right?" She started saying.

"You hinted about it but you never told me…how it happened. And it's totally fine with me Elena if you don't feel like talking about it. You don't owe me anything." He said.

"I know." She said nodding. "I'm telling you these things because I want to, Damon. I trust you and I…like talking with you even if as you already know that it's not something I really like to talk about."

He smiled at her tenderly and started caressing her back lovingly.

"It was my senior year. I was at a party near the falls when my date for that night ditched me and I didn't know how to go back home since all of my friends had already left. So I…I called my parents." She said taking a deep breath. "They were so mad at me because it was so late and I was supposed to be home for more than an hour already. Anyway they both came to the party giving me a lecture and picking me up. We yelled for the whole ride and I just wouldn't listen to them, I was stubborn and immature and I said a lot of things that I would gladly take back if I could." She said quietly, her voice shaking a little in the end as she took a long sip from the glass of bourbon.

She was tensing up and Damon started running a hand through her hair soothingly.

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to." He assured her.

"I've repeated the scene so many times in my head that now the only difference is that I'm saying it out loud." She said smiling weakly.

"We were so distracted by all the yelling that we didn't even have the time to focus as a trunk driving on the wrong side of the road hit us. And…we were on Wickery Bridge, so the impact made the car spin and fall in the water." She was talking in almost a whisper in the end, a lump forming in her throat as she started tearing up.

He could see how much pain it was causing her to open the wound again. He suddenly took her in his arms, holding her close to him feeling a sense of protectiveness towards this precious amazing girl here in his arms.

"It's okay Elena." He whispered in her ear. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay. Calm down baby."

Almost as in a natural reaction her body immediatly relaxed and she rested her head against his chest, the beating of his heart calming her down and making her feel safe.

"It all happened so fast. I almost thought I was having a nightmare because it was all too surreal. Mom and dad…I could see that they didn't make it." She said quietly, gulping nervously. "The car was filling with water and I couldn't move. I was stuck and almost unconscious when I felt someone dragging me out. Turned out to be someone who had seen the whole accident and had luckily called 911 just in time."

Damon was speechless. He wanted to comfort her somehow, but he also knew that words wouldn't be helpful anyway. She just needed to let it out.

She was a brave, strong, and indipendent woman and she did deserve to know and believe that.

"I…I know that I'm not going to bring your parents back or make you forget, but you are one hell of a woman Elena. I'm so proud of you in every single way. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this has been on you and still is, and I promise you I will spend as long as you give me to make it up to you. I was so blind when I came back, not seeing the strong brave woman that you have become." He said, his eyes shimmering with adoration and pride.

She smiled back at him in awe and kissed him urgently, running a hand through his black hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.

"I was such a horrible person back then. A childish, spoiled, stupid girl who told her parents she hated them right before they died." She suddenly cried out, her hot tears running down his neck.

He immediatly pulled back and felt a pang in his chest as he saw her looking so broken and regretful. He would kiss all her pain away if he only could.

He gently cupped her cheeks, making eye contact with her.

"Stop it." He said holding her gaze. "You're not horrible, you never were and you never will. You are my Elena. Stop blaming yourself for a terribile accident. Because that was what it was, an accident. And your parents knew you loved them, Elena. Angry words don't mean anything. You didn't mean it and they knew." He said firmly.

"No Damon. I am so ashamed of myself, that's why I was never really able to talk about it with anyone. You can live with the pain because it somehow becomes a part of you…but the remorse, god that's unbereable." She said biting her lip to keep herself from having an outburst again. "Everytime I think about those last words I told them I wish I could go back in time just to take them back. That's it. Just telling them how much I love them and that they will always be a part of me." She said almost desperately.

He didn't know how to comfort her because it was true. Remorse was a bitch, but that was something that she had to deal with herself. She still had to accept it he realized. But he knew she would, one day.

"I know." He whispered kissing her cheek.

She smiled weakly at him and started wiping her tears away. He smiled back at her and took the glass that she was holding, putting it on the table nearby.

"I actually feel like I took a huge weight off myself." She said sighing quietly. "I didn't realize until now how talking about it could help me. Thank you, Damon."

"No, thank _you._ You don't even know how glad I am that you decided to open up to me about it." He said proudly.

She gave him a cute little smile and he tucked her under his arm like it was a cocoon.

"Why were you so upset though? Has it something to do with what I told you?" He then asked confused.

"Oh…it's because I'm not finished yet." She suddenly remembered.

His eyes widened a little in fear and she couldn't help but chuckle when his face went pale again.

"It's not so bad, not that much at least. Don't worry." She assured him.

"Good." He said, sighing in relief.

"You know how after the accident I got closer to Stefan and both him and Maria helped me a lot, right?" She said.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Well after the accident I stayed at the hospital for more than a month. I wasn't in a coma but I had several broken bones and a head injury." She said gulping, remembering the pain she felt. "Anyways…your mother did a lot of volunteering at the hospital, helping the nurses out and making donations and everything you know. So we kind of started bonding since she knew my parents and I was at the same school as Stefan's. When I got out of the hospital I spent a lot of time here at the Boarding House. Jenna was still studying when everything happened and she had so many things to take care of…hadn't Maria helped us I don't know where I would be standing right now." She said quietly.

"You would be exactly where you are now. You're a fighter, Elena. Don't you ever forget that." He said smiling a little. "And I'm...I'm just so glad that my mother and Stefan looked after you. I'm sorry I wasn't here. I would have taken care of you too, you know." He then said quietly looking down.

"I know. And I know I would have fallen for you even then." She said with a sweet smile, gently taking his chin to make him look at her in the eyes.

His eyes were holding so much vulnerability and sorrow. She gave him a peck on the lips and he held her close to his body, breathing in her intoxicating scent.

"I'm still not following you though. You don't want to go because of something I said? Did I upset you?" He asked worriedly and almost desperately at her being so vague about it.

She was so brave and strong. He had figured that it sure hadn't been easy on her, but hearing all the story and seeing her hurting like that even after so many years it was like a stab in his heart. She deserved all the love in the world and he would be damn sure to give it to her.

She had told him all the heavier stuff, what should have really made her feel uncomfortable to talk about. Instead what she'd been avoiding and taking time to say for the last forty minutes was still there and for some reasons everytime she was about to open her mouth to say the words they got stuck in her throat.

"Can we go in the backyard and take a walk…some fresh air." She said clearing her throat a little.

"Sure." Damon said eyeing her suspiciously.

Here she was being nervous all over again and he still had no clue of what it was about. Way to go.

The backyard of the Boarding House was huge. You could actually get lost in there. They walked quietly in there for a few long moments until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh for the love of god Elena just say it, please?" He suddenly said exhasperateldy, stopping in his tracks.

He was silently begging her with his eyes and she sighed defeatedly.

"Let's take a seat." She said sitting in one of the benches near the roses bushes.

He noticed her rubbing her arms and he quickly took off his leather jacket, handing it to her.

She smiled softly and put it on her shoulders, immediatly feeling warmer.

"Can you promise not to judge me? Or mock me? Or laugh at me?" She said looking at him pointedly.

"I _swear_." He said rolling his eyes. "And you already asked me that by the way."

She gave him a small smile and then spoke up.

"After I recovered from the major injuries, it turned out that I couldn't walk anymore. At one point the doctors even told me that it would be a miracle if I started walking again. So I stayed on a wheel chair for over two years, and just after then I managed to start walking again after several months of physiotherapy." She said staring ahead of her.

Damon gasped a little and reached out for her hand.

"Why would you even think that I would laugh at you or mock you Elena?" He asked baffled.

She ignored his question as she kept talking.

"All that basically took three years and a half of my life. I got into a big depression at first and I wanted to give up so many times, you don't even know…" She said shaking her head. "Point is that ever since then I'm not the same person anymore. I changed drastically, and even though it's been two years that I'm walking again now, I just…focused on different things other than dating or partying." She then said, finally looking at him.

She was starting to feel more comfortable about it but he still seemed to have no clue of where she was going.

"It's perfectly normal. You had Jeremy to take care of, plus getting back to normality, your job…Elena I get it. I'm not that shallow even though you think I'm a player or something." He said firmly.

She chucked a little and squeezed his hand.

"What I'm trying to say is that when the accident happened I wasn't even eigtheen, I was pratically still a kid. Then it all happened…and obviously with being on a wheel chair and having my recovery I couldn't do or actually didn't want to do what other people normally did at my age...I mean I dated here and there but nothing serious you know…" She started saying biting her bottom lip, hoping he would take the hint.

"I get it." He said with a chuckle. "I've never been in a serious relationship either Elena. It's fine. We can try that one out together." He said doing his eye thing.

She was still biting her bottom lip and mentally groaning at his obliviousness. But there she was, about to say it loud and clear.

"Oh for god's sake Damon you just aren't taking the clue." She said shaking her head. "I've never been in _any kind_ of relationship. With anyone. Do you get what I'm saying?" She then asked almost desperate for him to take the hint this time.

Suddenly it seemed to hit him as his eyes widened in shock and a cute little thoughtful expression grew on his face.

"Oh..." He said, feeling puzzled. "Oh." He repeated.

"That's all you have to say? 'Oh'?" Elena asked chuckling nervously.

"So you uhm…" He started saying rubbing his forehead. "I mean you have never, you know?" He asked awkwardly.

His reaction was being priceless. She really did take him off guard.

"Nope." She said quietly.

She suddenly remembered that it was Damon here with her. He was handsome and beautiful and she didn't even want to think about with how many women he'd been. It made her feel uncomfortable and insecure because she would always feel a little worthless or not enough. Maybe she would bore him someday with her lack of experience. He was the first guy she'd ever trusted with this and she didn't want to screw it up.

She crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably and started feeling paranoid. What if he was internally laughing at her? Or thinking how lame she was? Or worst thinking about dumping her?

"I knew you weren't going to take it well. I get it if it's something that bothers you or you're not willing to wait." She said quietly looking down, fidgeting with her hands.

She suddely looked at him in confusion and a little hurt when he started chuckling. Great, now he was even laughing at her.

"Oh why thanks. Laugh it off." She said sarcastically.

"Elena." He said smoothly, a smile crossing his face as he took her hands in his. "I'm seriously going to be offended if you really think that I was going to mock you or leave you over something like that." He said now serious.

"But Damon…" She started saying.

"No buts. I assure you that you're making it much bigger than it really is. It's not a big deal, believe me." He said softly, slowly scooting her in his arms. "I was just...shocked? Surprised? I don't even know the term. Because I mean…look at you. You are a goddess baby. I'm actually secretly happy about it." He said winking.

"So that's it? You're okay with it? Because Damon I want to be with you, I really want to but I'm just…not ready." She said.

"No buts I said." He said raising his eyebrow. "When the time will come, I'll make it up to you. I'm going to rock your world and that's a promise." He said with his infamous smirk.

She blushed but then smiled widely at him, kissing him happily. He never ceased to amaze her. Who would have said that he had such a soft side in him? One moment he could be the biggest asshole on the planet and the other he was the sweetest person she'd ever met.

She didn't know why she'd made such a big deal out of it. In the end it turned out just fine and even though she still felt a little uncomfortable about the fact that he now knew she was glad that she'd finally let it out.

"You've plenty of experience though. How am I ever going to be enough? I mean Damon you're a slut, you have to admit it." She said frowning, chuckling in the end.

He gasped a little baffled as his blue orbs widened in shock.

"You did not just say that." He said shaking his head.

"Oh I did. You've been with that slut of Andie, which makes you a slut as well. Deal with it." She said making a grimace.

He groaned rolling his eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling as she gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"If it is of any comfort, my first time was when I was nineteen. Kinda lame for a guy." He said snorting.

"Not true." She said. "Who was she? Was it important?"

"Well kind of. My first experience and all you know." He shrugged. "It was with Rose. I don't know if you remember her but we used to be great friends in high school and one day it just sort of happened."

Elena cringed a little but quickly shrugged the feeling off. She had to accept that he had a past too. What mattered was that he was here with _her_ now.

"I do remember her. She moved out of town a little while after you did." She said as she leaned into his shoulder.

The fresh air of the night and the silence surrounding them was relaxing her and she closed her eyes taking in the moment.

"She went back to England, I guess. I haven't heard from her in years." He said thoughtfully.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes just enjoying each other's company and the cool breeze.

He was running his fingers up and down her arm making goose-bumps take form in her body and she was almost falling asleep in his arms. She was feeling so good.

He then glanced at his phone and spoke again.

"What do you think about going to grab something to eat at this pretty nice bakery I know? We've barely eaten and this place makes the best cupcakes ever." He said winking.

She grinned like a chesire cat and kissed his cheek, getting up from the bench and dragging him up too.

"I say yes." She said while wrapping her arms around his waist. "And I think I know which one you're talking about."

"Oh yeah?" He said raising an eyebrow.

"It's that little cozy place at the corner of the town square, right?" She smiled.

"Yup." He smirked as he kissed her nose and wrapped an arm around her shoulder while heading back into the house.

She was feeling pretty worried about Stefan and she wondered if Maria had found him and talked to him. The last thing she wanted was to see Stefan upset even though being hurt and lash out sometimes was okay. But he had to accept her relationship with Damon eventually.

While Stefan and some other people made her feel happy and especially not alone, Damon had slowly become her rock. She couldn't imagine a day without him anymore. She was hardly a needy person but she craved the way he made her feel loved and brightened her up her days.

Not to mention the physical connection. She was starting to feel more comfortable in a lot of ways with him.

They hopped up in his car and then parked five minutes away from the town square. Even the center of the town wasn't very crowded aside from when carnivals or special events were organized.

Dalia's bakery was one of the most famous places in town and she smiled as she remembered when she had to almost drag Stefan out of it during his chubby old times. They still went from time to time and her favorite was the peanuts butter cupcake or the red velvet cake.

They reached it in a few minutes and slided in one of the booths after they entered.

"So what are you taking?" Damon asked leaning closer.

"I obviously want my peanuts butter cupcake. And then maybe we could share a slice of red velvet?" She said making doe eyes and licking her lips.

He shook his head in amusement and chuckled a little.

"You're obsessed with peanuts. I remember taking you that ice-cream that time." He said rolling his eyes.

"You were being a gentleman as I recall." She said smiling. "The first time you were actually being decent to me. I felt so accomplished."

He took her hand in his from across the table and squeezed it smiling at her.

Just then a bubbly blonde waitress came by asking for their orders. Elena convinced Damon to take one of those cupcakes himself and they ordered a slice of red velvet cake to share too and coke to drink.

The place felt so cozy and familiar and being here with Damon was just perfect. The waitress brought them their orders in a few minutes and she immediatly started chewing on her cupcake while Damon looked at her with an amused expression.

"I wanted to ask you." He said as he took a bite himself. "I know that you're working at the Grill and all…but have you thought about what you want to do in the future I mean if you want to do something in particular at all?" He asked, sounding a little nervous about asking her.

He didn't want to be pushy or nosy but Elena was such a smart girl. She was wasted at the Grill.

"Actually I do." She said nodding. "I would love to become a writer one day. I used to write in my journal everyday. I just can't find the inspiration anymore though…" She then said thoughtfully sighing.

"Try and go in a place you love or that you think could inspire you. Just stay there for a while and see if it helps you writing. Starting with your journal again could help, maybe." He said.

She looked at him intently, her eyes shimmering with _love_. He was always so supportive.

"You're amazing. You know that, right?" She said.

"Yeah you mentioned it once or twice." He said shrugging casually.

She giggled a little and then they started sharing the cake. From time to time he would feed her with his spoon and she loved the intimate looks that they shared.

Their little happy bubble was quickly burst when they heard a too familiar voice.

"Well well, look who's getting cozy. Never saw this coming to be quite honest." Andie said trying to sound nonchalant.

Elena threw an annoyed desperate look at Damon which he reciprocated.

"What a surprise, Andie. Enjoying a night out?" He asked not even bothering to cover up his annoyance.

"I'm actually writing an article about the place and its skills. I was invited to a baseball match but my plastic surgeon doesn't want me to expose myself in any kind of activity where balls fly at my nose or things like that." She said, her eyes longingly lingering on Damon a bit too much.

"There goes your social life." Elena said batting her eye lashes and faking a smile at her.

Oh snap.

Andie's head immediatly turned to look at her, a baffled expression on her face as Damon tried to keep an amused snort catching Elena's double meaning.

"I mean being a reporter and all…you must be doing things like that everyday." She then said casually.

"Sure." Andie said quietly, checking her out with a pissy expression.

Damon threw Elena a proud look for standing up to her and she smiled accomplished.

"I'll leave you guys at it then. It was nice seeing you again Damon." She said smiling tenderly at him which made Elena's insides turn around. "And you too Elena." She then added with a fake smile.

"Same for us." Elena said taking Damon's hand in hers, making a point.

Andie seemed annoyed but quickly left leaving that horrible heavy perfume she always wore behind her.

"Thank god." Elena breathed out rolling her eyes. "Stuck up bitch on high heels. I can't stand her." She muttered.

"Oh c'mon she's not that bad." Damon chuckled.

He immediatly stopped though when he saw Elena throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

"What do you mean with she's not that bad?" She then asked knotting her eyebrows worriedly. "In bed you mean? Is she good?"

Damon almost chocked up on his drink as he started coughing and his eyes widened in shock at Elena's question.

"What the hell Elena?" He said still coughing a little.

"Well I was just saying." She shrugged. "She's a renomated slutty thing and you have been with her. I just want to know Damon I mean when that happens between us I want to be enough for you."

"God you're paranoid." He said rolling his eyes.

He saw a flicker of hurt crossing her face and he immediatly regretted making it come out that way. He just wanted to make her understand once and for all that she already was enough. She already was everything he could ask for.

He got up from his booth and slid next to her so they could talk better.

"You gotta stop worrying so much baby. This kind of paranoia won't do you any good, trust me. You already are enough for me. Enough to say the least." He said holding her chin up.

She pouted a little but then looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Okay…" She said reclutantly. "So was she good?" She then asked.

He chuckled a little shaking his head and chastily kissed her on the lips.

"You're too cute for words." He said. "And if you must know…no, she really isn't even worth be reminded of. Horrible mistake." He said cringing.

She smiled satisfied and kissed him again before they finished eating and he left the bill on the table.

They headed out of the bakery and started walking towards Damon's car after taking a little walk. It was a nice feeling to walk having Damon's protective arm wrapped around her shoulder as she snuggled into him.

Suddenly a feeling of bitterness came over her and she turned around to look at him while he was driving.

"Damon?" She asked.

"Mmhm?" He said.

"I…well…" She started hesitantly. "Can I crash at your place tonight? It's just that Jeremy isn't sleeping home today and it's really starting to get me to be all alone in that house you know and…"

"Elena." He quickly stopped her as he laughed a little. "It's okay. More than okay. To my place then?"

"Great. Thanks." She said quietly smiling at him.

* * *

><p>Damon tried to keep it casual but he was internally grinning at the thought of Elena sleeping at his apartment. After feeling her sleeping in his arms last night he was craving it now. He didn't know if he would ever sleep any better than he did last night.<p>

They got there a few minutes later and he hoped that she wouldn't be too judgey about the apartment. It wasn't crap but it sure wasn't cozy as her house or comfy as the Boarding House.

He didn't even know if this was the place he wanted if he really moved in Mystic Falls permanently.

Elena seemed quite excited to finally be here and he smiled at the sight she made. She was always smiling around him lately, which wasn't something that she did very often he noticed.

"So this is it." He said with a sigh as he opened the door and led her in.

She looked around a little walking around and then turned around to look at him.

"I like it. It's even pretty big and comfortable, especially if you're on your own." She said.

"Well that's not entirely true." He said as he walked over her.

She smiled _that_ smile that seemed to be reserved just for him and he gently cupped her cheeks, kissing her lips softly and rubbing his nose with hers.

"Promise me you'll stop being paranoid and I'll let you sleep with my favorite t-shirt." He whispered against her lips with a smirk.

She chuckled a little and put her hands on his that were resting on her cheeks.

"I pinky promise you." She said with a chuckle and a nod.

"Good." He said still smirking.

He slapped her butt and she squealed a little.

"Go ahead and feel free to sneak into my things. The t-shirt is the first one on the left side of the first drawer." He said winking.

"Okay." She said yawning a little.

He took his jacket and hers putting them in the closet, locking the door right after. By the time he was done with that stuff he walked in his room finding Elena already curled up in his bed, a tired cute smile on her face.

She was actually laying on his side and he smiled at the sight.

He stripped himself from his clothes and he catched Elena's dreamy eyes when he took off his shirt and showed his sculptorious chest.

"Like what you see?" He asked cockily.

"Nope. I prefer the sight of this comfy pillow." She said teasing him.

He usually slept naked but obviously he was going to at least keep his boxers on with Elena around.

He was pretty exhausted himself but as he was about to crash next to her the doorbell rang. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and he exchanged a confused look with Elena.

"Were you waiting for someone?" She asked.

"No." He said thoughtfully as he got up and put his jeans on before going to open.

A look of utter surprise and then shock crossed his face as he opened the door finding a pretty much beaten up Stefan standing there.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I am soooooo sorry this took so long! I suck at updating lately, I know. :(**

**I must admit that the latest episodes didn't exactly inspire me, with the whole Damon/Rebekah and Elena/Stefan drama going on. The promo for 3x19 though did give me something to feel inspired on. Hah. ;)**

**Again guys, I'm so sorry. I hope you're still sticking around and you'll be so nice to let me know what you think! As always reviews are very welcome and I love reading your thoughts. :)**

**Thank you for reading!  
><strong>

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><p>"Stefan what the hell did you do?" Damon asked, his whole face painted in shock.<p>

The same look plastered on his face right after he saw his brother standing there with a bloody lip and a bruised face. He was trying to keep it together but for the love of him he couldn't think of Stefan getting into trouble with anyone, let alone a fight like this.

What did he manage to get himself into in only a few hours?

"Damon? Who is it?" Elena's voice called from his bedroom.

Stefan's eyes widened in understanding and surprise when he heard Elena's voice. He couldn't let her see him like that. And neither would Damon.

It would freak her out and today it had already been a pretty heavy day for her.

"Stay here." Damon whispered to Stefan.

He nodded silently and took a seat on the stairs next Damon's front door.

Damon took a deep breath and tried to keep a straight face as he walked into his bedroom, finding Elena looking at him with an expectant and slightly worried look on her face.

"It's just Stefan. He still seems pretty pissed though so I'm just going to give him what he came here for and I'll be done in a few minutes, okay?" He said forcing a smile.

Elena still seemed a little wary and suspicious, but she nodded reclutantly.

"Is he mad at me? Can I talk to him?" She asked sadly.

He immediatly stiffened as he heard her words. It was one big mess and Damon was starting to realize that he wasn't able to lie to her. Not easily as he thought he could, at least. He didn't want to lie to her but when he could, he would preserve her from ulterior pain or worry in her life. He still had to figure out what Stefan had gotten himself into.

"I don't think that's a good idea babe. Maybe tomorrow." He stressed, caressing her shoulder soothingly.

"What exactly did he come here for?" She then asked narrowing her eyes a little.

He unconsciously stopped his movements as his mouth formed into a little 'o' shape when he didn't know what to respond. Fuck. Was she really that suspicious?

"He just needs some cash and he didn't want to ask mom. Seriously Elena does it really matter?" He sighed.

She stiffened a little and glared at him, trying to shrug off her wary feeling even though she could clearly sense that there was something going on.

It was odd of Stefan to come in the middle of the night asking for money. It just wasn't him. As far as she knew he didn't owe money to anyone or anything that could put him into trouble. There was definitely something that Damon wasn't telling her but she decided to let it go…for now.

"Okay." She said. "But if something important happened you would tell me, right?" She then asked searching for his gaze.

"Of course." He said hesitantly, smiling tightly. "Now sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead and walked out, closing the door behind him.

She stayed there for a few moments, wondering why she was feeling such a weird vibe about what just happened. Did Damon just lie to her in the face? He was always honest with her, and as much as she could see it in his face when he was, she could also see when he was lying.

She tried to lay in bed for a while but as she overheard Damon and Stefan's loud whispering she decided that that was it. She had to see herself what was going on.

She quietly got out of bed, tip-toeing to the door and opening it slowly.

All she could see was Stefan laying on the couch with what seemed to be something icy against his forehead.

"Why can't you just tell me what happened? Did you get into some serious trouble Stefan?" Damon whispered angrily.

"No. I just…I don't want to talk about it right now. My eye is throbbing and so is my head." Stefan hissed back.

Elena gasped a little as she realized that he was injured. Her heart immediatly started beating frantically at the thought of Stefan being into some kind of troubled situation.

"What's going on?" She asked warily as she started walking towards them.

They both jumped a little at the sound of her voice and Damon's eyes widened in shock as he saw her standing there.

"Elena." He sighed.

"Oh my god Stefan what happened to you?" She immediatly asked when she saw how bad it was.

"That's what I was trying to figure out." Damon muttered with a sarcastic expression.

"I told you to leave Elena out of this. I knew she would freak out." Stefan sighed heavily.

"Of course I'm freaking out!" She said angrily. "And for your information he tried to leave me out of this. You sneaky idiots." She said glaring at Damon.

He glared back at her and they both kept each other's gaze until Stefan's moan as he plopped on the couch again snapped them out of it.

Elena immediatly went sitting next to him as Damon sat on the arm of the sofa.

"I got into a fight with Mason Lockwood." He confessed quietly.

"What?" Both Elena and Damon said loudly at the same time.

"I was at the Falls...not really my thing, I know, but Rebekah wanted to go since there was a party so we all went there. I saw Mason being his usual cocky self and I didn't give a crap until I overheard him talking shit about you." He said. "He was telling that you two had a heated argument and how he dumped you because you're a…frigid bitch, that he had plenty of women at his feet, and shit like that. So Matt and I approached him but that douche of Tyler of course backed him up and well here I am. I'm sorry I couldn't defend you as I should have Elena." Stefan said quietly, looking down.

She couldn't believe that he did it again. She should have realized what an aggressive and impulsive person Mason was when the accident in his car happened. She still had a bruise on her arm to prove it, and now he beat Stefan up?

Damon's jaw was clentched as he stood stiff. She'd rarely seen that ice cold look in his eyes, but when she did, it usually didn't mean anything good.

"Is it true?" He then asked, looking at Elena. "That you two had an argument? When?"

"Damon…it was nothing, really. I didn't want to add any more drama and it happened before we got together." She said, unconsciously bringing her hand to her arm.

As Damon noticed the move, realization seemed to have hit him as he clentched his fists.

"Did he threaten you or hurt you?" He then asked, trying not to lose it. "Tell me the truth, Elena."

The look in his eyes made very clear that he wouldn't take her dishonesty. Not this time.

"He yelled at me because I was telling him that I didn't want to see him anymore. It was the night after Caroline's party and he just…sort of grabbed my arm." She said hesitantly.

She should have known better and told Damon from the start. She knew that eventually it would have come out anyway, and as mixed emotions started surfacing on his face, Elena felt like she had really screwed up this time.

"Let me see your arm." He demanded as he stepped closer.

She took a deep breath and hesitantly ran up her sleeve, showing him the now yellowed bruise.

His ice blue eyes were penetrating her hazel ones and she suddenly felt a string of guilt for not telling him before. He looked baffled and as soon as he broke eye-contact she understood how mad he was.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered walking towards his room.

"Damon what are you doing?" She asked, following him.

"You should have told me, Elena." He stated sternly as he started buttoning his shirt. "You shouldn't have let him get away with it. You knew I could have helped you, damn it."

"I let him off the hook because I knew what yours and Stefan's reactions would be. I don't want any more drama in my life Damon…it's nothing! Please leave it alone!" She pressed as she took his wrists and looked at him in the eyes.

He threw her a hard glance and grabbed her arm, twisting it slightly to show the bruise.

"You call _this_ nothing?" He said as he looked at the palm-sized bruise on her arm. "As far as the law is concerned, he assaulted you. So you can't ask me to let it go. It's my job, Elena."

Tears started gathering in her eyes as she remembered Mason's harsh words and how he manhandled her that night. What was getting to her though was seeing Damon so angry and unreasonable.

Pressing charges against Mason would mean starting also an everending fight with the most powerful family in town. There was no may the the Mayor would let Mason be accused and ruin the Lockwood's reputation.

He'd also make sure to get his revenge and god only knew what they were capable of. Damon couldn't understand this but she did.

"I am begging you Damon, just let it go. I'm sorry but I just…if you want to accuse Mason of something, do it yourself. I don't want to get more involved with that family than I already have. Getting close to Mason has been a mistake. You don't know what they're capable of." She said warily, shaking her head. "They drove my uncle John to alcoholism and he had to leave town. Think about what they could do to Jenna, to Jeremy…to me."

She was pratically begging him, desperately pleading him with her eyes to let it go.

"If this is what you decided, then there's nothing I can do to stop you." He answered coldly. "But you're a woman and he hurt and threatened you. This goes against all my values."

She let go of his wrists with a defeated expression as she saw how disappointed he was. He had probably lost all respect that he had for her but she couldn't risk to pull a John on Jeremy or Jenna.

"Can anyone please explain to me what the hell just happened?" Stefan said confused as Damon walked in the living room.

"You can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch." Damon said, taking off his shirt and throwing it on a chair nearby.

"You're going to let me sleep here?" Stefan asked.

"Of course." Damon scoffed. "There's no way that I'm letting you go back home to mom in this state. I'm going to give her a call and tell her that you were drunk and asked me to pick you up. Now end of discussion."

"Okay…thanks." Stefan said quietly, eyeing Damon suspiciously when he noticed how upset and tensed he was.

He walked towards his bedroom just to find a crying Elena sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Hey, what happened?" He immediatly asked in concern as he went to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I just messed up big time." She sobbed quietly. "With Damon."

"Elena what's this bruise?" He then asked, looking at it in disbelief.

"This was Mason Lockwood's goodbye." She replied sarcastically, wiping some of the tears off her eyes.

"He did this to you?" Stefan said as his eyes widened in shock and his voice raised.

"Yes. But I don't want to get into it so please Stefan at least you, just let it go. What's done it's done." She pressed.

"You can't think like that. The bastard can't get away with it like nothing happened." He said shaking his head. "Look at what he did to me and Matt too. He clearly needs to be stopped."

"I wish he wouldn't, but you know what happens when you get against a Lockwood." She said, looking at him pointedly.

"I guess I do." He said, his face softening as he understood what she was talking about and how indeed powerful the Lockwood's were.

"Where's Damon?" She then asked softly.

"He's sleeping on the couch. He's pretty upset right now but he'll come around." Stefan reassured her as he gently rubbed her arm.

"I don't know Stef. He made it very clear that he's against my decision and that it goes against all his values…and I honestly respect that." She said sighing.

"Now let's get some sleep okay?" She yawned. "You need to rest and so do I. By the way I'm sorry that you got involved too. You did a wonderful thing for me today." She then said with a weak smile.

"I would do it again if I had to." He said nudging her shoulder. "The only problem now is mom. If she sees me like this she'll freak out."

"She won't. You'll sleep it off and then in the morning I'll cover you up with some make-up or something." She said thoughtfully.

"Make-up?" Stefan cringed.

"Just some foundation. You won't even notice." She said rolling her eyes.

"Okay then…" He said hesitantly.

Elena chuckled a little as Stefan crawled into bed and she then turned off the light, quietly stepping out of the room.

She felt a pang in her chest as she looked at Damon asleep on the couch. This was their first real fight ever since they got together and it was hurting her more than it should have. She hated fighting with him. She wished she could make it right by him, but she also knew that neither of them would give up on what they believed.

She quietly kneeled in front of him, looking at him longlingly as his chest rose and fell slowly with each breath. He looked so peaceful and innocent. All signs of his anger gone for now. Her heart started beating a little faster as her eyes fell on his naked sculptorious chest and biceps.

"I love you." She whispered in his ear, stroking his raven black hair lovingly. "No matter what happens."

She took the shirt that he had thrown on the chair and laid it on his chest, covering him up. She didn't know what made her confess those three little words but it felt so spontaneous and natural that she almost didn't notice that she did finally let it out loud.

It was true. She was _in love_ with him. No matter what happened, her feelings for Damon wouldn't change. If anything this situation only made her realize it even more.

With a sigh she stood up and headed towards the bedroom again, closing the door behind her and crawling into bed, hoping that in the morning she would feel more positive than she was feeling right now.

As she woke up the next morning, Elena immediatly glanced at the clock which signaled that it was only 9am.

Stefan had already woken-up and she could hear voices coming from the kitchen. She quickly got up, tying her hair in a messy bun.

"For the hundreth time, I already told you I'm fine, mom." Stefan said sighing heavily. "I'm at Damon's house. I sort of drunk too much last night and he came to pick me up. I didn't want to make you mad so I stayed here for the night."

She waved at him as she came walking into the kitchen and he waved back, smiling as he flipped some pancakes.

"Okay. Bye. See you later." He said as he hanged up.

He released a frustrated sigh and Elena giggled lightly.

"Trouble with Maria?" She asked as she poured herself some coffee.

"Yeah, her usual anxious self you know." He said rolling his eyes.

"How are you feeling? You look better this morning." She then said serious as she checked out his face.

"It's all still throbbing a little but luckily it's not showing like tonight. Maybe you could help me with whatever make-up you want me to put on." He said tentatively.

"I will." She said chuckling and shaking her head. "Where is Damon anyway?"

"I don't know. I woke up and he wasn't here." Stefan said shrugging.

She suddenly started feeling paranoid, wondering if he had decided to go after Mason.

"Oh god. I hope he didn't do anything he's going to regret." She said worriedly.

"I don't think so Elena. My brother is clever." Stefan said.

"But he's also impulsive." She said pointedly.

Just then they heard the front door closing and they both hurried over him.

She smiled when she saw that he didn't look upset or tensed as last night, but she didn't know how to act around him right now.

Were they still fighting? Was he expecting her to make the first move? Were they over?

"Hey." She said, smiling weakly.

When he didn't smile back or give her a reassuring sign though she felt like she'd just been stabbed in the heart.

"Mason's gone." He then said.

"What?" Stefan asked before she could do it.

"He left town early this morning. I went to the Lockwood estate because I wanted to…talk to him." He said, the dangerous glint in his eyes hinting that he'd planned on doing something more than a simple talk. "Carol Lockwood gave me some crap about him leaving for work or something like that but we obviously all know better here."

"He probably realized that he hit the bottom with me and Matt last night so he ran off. That coward." Stefan muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"He shouldn't have been let off the hook from the start." Damon said, glaring at Elena. "And now he's gone, getting away with it."

"Oh my god I didn't know…" Elena started saying.

"I'm tired right now." He quickly cut her off. "I got up pretty early this morning so now I just want to rest for a little while. You two should probably get going."

She stared at him baffled for a few seconds, surprised at how cold he was acting. Where was the Damon who held her and made her feel like the most special person in the world yesterday?

"Sure." She replied, not realizing how weak the sound of her voice was. "I'm going to change then."

She washed and dressed in a few minutes, wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible. She knew that a break down was coming but she sure as hell wouldn't allow it to happen in front of Damon.

Stefan was waiting for her near the front door and she just glanced at Damon intently, who this time smiled slightly at her with a nod.

* * *

><p>Stefan drove her to her house, but before getting out of the car she applied some foundation under his eye and near his lip. Now he just probably seemed hangover.<p>

For the first time since she worked there, Elena couldn't wait for her shift at the Grill to start so she could finally see Matt and ask him how he was doing. She just hoped that it wasn't as bad as Stefan or worse.

She took a quick shower and changed in fresh clothes, immediatly checking her phone right after to see if there was any missed call or text from Damon.

Nothing. She sighed sadly, not wanting to acknoweledge the fact that perhaps it was over. Of course good things all came to an end for her.

She got at the Grill towards 11pm and as she headed inside she noticed that it was pretty much empty. There was only Vicky behind the counter.

"Hey Vic." She said as she approached her with a smile.

"Oh hi Elena." She suddenly said, her voice holding some concern.

"Is everything okay?" Elena asked worriedly.

"It's just Matty. He came home last night all beaten up and scared, I don't know what got into him. I'm usually the trouble maker of the family." She said chuckling humorless.

"Oh my god." She gasped. "But…is he okay now? I'm so sorry Vicky." Elena said hugging her, feeling guilty.

"It's no biggie, he just has a black eye and a pretty huge bump on the cheek though. Now Caroline is all worried that he's going to look like that at the upcoming ball." Vicky said chuckling.

"Right. That." Elena said trying to force a laugh herself. "Still, if you need anything at all, just ask me okay?"

"Okay, thanks Elena. Would you mind just staying two hours more than usual? Rebekah can't make it today. I don't know what the hell happened to everyone." She said throwing her arms up in the air.

"Of course." She said with a reassuring smile as she went to change in her outfit.

When she came back only a bunch of people had arrived. She couldn't stop thinking about the whole Mason thing though and how maybe Damon was right. She should have talked sooner. Instead she just chickened out and shrugged it off, giving him the opportunity to hit harder. And now as a cherry on top she might even lose Damon, the only thing that she just couldn't afford to do. All because of her stubborness.

By lunch still a little amount of people had showed up and it was more than odd. Usually it got plenty busy by noon.

"Wow, ten clients in five hours. People are feeling stingy today." Vicky boredly complained.

"Don't worry just yet. Maybe they'll come later." Elena tried to reassure her, even though she was feeling a weird vibe herself.

Just then the only person who could have made her day worth something by now entered and Elena couldn't help the hopeful smile on her face as Damon walked in, gorgeous as always.

She ran towards him and held onto him for dear life when he took her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry Damon." She said as she started crying. A mix of joy and sadness overhelming her. "I know I've disappointed you, but I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"You don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart." He soothed her. "I just wanted to protect you and I get mad when I'm not able to do it."

She pulled back to look at him in the eyes and her heart melted when this time she found them staring back at her with the same love and warmth that she usually saw in them, and not the unusual coldness of yesterday.

"I feel protected whenever I'm with you. You don't have to worry abotu that." She said softly.

He wiped her hot tears away with his thumbs and kissed her fiercely, all the frustration and hurt that they felt getting away with it.

He then started kissing her neck tickling her with his little love bite marks which made her giggle and at the same time beg for more.

"Gee, get a room." Vicky said with a cringe as she walked nearby.

Damon rolled his eyes and she blushed but then he noticed that there was something odd.

"Why is the place so empty?" He asked as he looked around.

"That's what I've been wondering all morning." She replied sighing. "It never happened before."

He then walked towards a stool, pulling her with him.

"Elena…there's something I need to tell you." He said with an hesitant sigh, stroking her hair lightly.

"Me too." She said grinning, finally deciding that it was time to tell him how she felt when he could actually listen. "But you go first."

It seemed like he was holding the words back and was wrestling to let them out, so a little part of her couldn't help but hope that maybe he was going to tell her he loved her.

The words that came out of his mouth though weren't what she was expecting at all.

"I have to go back to Chicago."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Yay! I'm so glad I could manage to update tonight, eek. :P As always thank you all so much for your support! You guys are the best!**

**This chapter is pretty full of Delena goodness, so I hope you'll all let me know your thoughts... ;)**

**Thank you again for reading** **& please let me know what you think!**

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><p>If she had been happy and thrilled when Damon walked in just ten minutes ago, now she wished that he never did.<p>

"You have to what?" She whispered in disbelief.

"I have to go back to Chicago." He repeated again, his eyes never leaving hers as he searched for her reaction.

When he saw the sorrow and concern in her eyes he realized that she had taken his statement at its worst.

"Elena, it's not permanent. I told you I was going to stay here." He reassured her, his thumb tracing soothing patterns on her cheek.

"I know." She said biting her bottom lip. "But it doesn't mean that I like it. Especially since you've really taken me aback with this news." She chuckled humorless.

"You know that I would spend every minute of everyday with you, but there are some things that I need to settle before leaving for good." He said softly.

"For how long?" She suddenly asked.

"A couple of weeks." He confessed.

"This sucks." She pouted as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I agree." He said with a chuckle, encircling her back tightly.

Elena was scared of how much she had started to need Damon in her life. The mere thought of losing him, or even not being with him, was like a sucker punch right in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had completely relied on a person so much. He owned her; body and soul.

"You can take the day off if you want to." She heard Vicky's voice saying.

She looked at Vicky and saw her winking and giving her thumbs up. Elena shook her head, smiling amused.

"Okay Vic, thanks." She shouted back.

"So does this mean that I have my girl all for myself today?" Damon asked while doing his infamous eye-thing.

His hands were softly caressing her hips and belly button and Elena found herself shivering lightly at the contact.

"Absolutely." She said bringing their bodies closer, giving him a wicked smile. "I'm just going to grab my stuff and I'm all yours."

As he looked at her disappearing into the grill's dressing room, Damon sighed, thinking about Elena's immediate reaction when he told her that he had to leave for Chicago. He knew that she suffered from abandonment issues sometimes and that he indeed took her by surprise, but didn't she know just how much she meant to him? He would never leave her. It wasn't possible anymore anyway…he was in love with her.

And it wasn't the light-hearted, silly, crush that he always had on her ever since high school. This time it was different. He wanted to spend every moment with her, his heart fluttered in his chest even for her silliest smile and he wanted to worship her. He would literally do anything for that girl.

Maybe he should just tell her. I'm in love with you. I love you.

The fear of rejection though was still there, and they were in such a great place right now. What if those words scared her or even bothered her?

He was so freaking whipped. He first came back into this town with the intention of being nothing but an asshole to her, and now here he was, vulnerable and head over heels for Elena Gilbert.

It hit him suddenly; maybe he should ask her to go to Chicago with him. That would give him the time to collect his feelings, especially with her around him all the time, and he knew that it would make her happy as well. And honestly the thought of staying away from her for two weeks was unbereable.

Although…shit, what if she said no because spending every night with him would make her feel uncomfortable? That was the last thing he wanted.

His doubtful thoughts were interrupted when she reapperead with a smile on her face.

"I'm ready to go." She affirmed as she gently took his hand in hers and entwined their fingers.

She smiled shyly at him and he found himself smiling right back at those doe eyes. That smile of hers was one of his favorites.

Her eyes grew immediatly suspicious when she saw him looking so serious.

"Oh god tell me you're not mad at me again." She said as they stepped out of the Grill.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her, a little baffled.

"What?" He said confusedly.

"I don't know, you seem so tense and serious all of a sudden. Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

He smirked amused, and even though sometimes she wanted to rip that smirk off his face, her body's reaction seemed to tell her otherwise.

"Elena Gilbert, you are one paranoid person." He sighed as he took her hand again and started walking towards his car.

"Then what is it?" She said impatiently.

"Did you have lunch yet?" He then asked.

"Uhm...no." She said knotting her eyebrows in confusion at his random question.

"Then I'm going to take you to a cozy nice restaurant that I know and we're going to talk there." He said before kissing her on the cheek and opening the car door for her.

"I'd rather go to your place actually." She said.

"You want to go to the Boarding House?" He asked.

"Nope, I said your place." She repeated with a glint in her eyes.

"As you wish, milady." He replied with the same glint.

The drive was quiet but Elena was dying to know. What was the big deal anyway? Why couldn't he just tell her now?

"Can I ask you what this is about?" She questioned.

"I…just want to propose you something and I don't know if you're okay with it." He said shrugging.

"Oh. Alright." Elena just said a little taken aback.

He wanted to propose her something? She didn't know why but the idea excited her immediatly, even though he seemed to believe the contrary.

As soon as they got to his apartment, Elena smiled happily inside at the thought that she was finally going to know if her excitement was worth the candle. Maybe he would ask her the most stupid thing, but then why did he seem so thoughtful and nervous about it?

"What do you want to eat?" Damon asked her.

"I don't know. Surprise me." She said shrugging with a smile.

"Then chicken parmesan it is. That's one of my best dishes." He said with a proud grin.

"Mmmh." Elena hummed quietly as she approached him and wrapped her arms around him, her hands roaming his muscled back. "I almost forgot that my sexy boyfriend is an awesome cooker."

"You can blame my half-Italian soul for it." He said huskily, his lips teasingly brushing on hers. "I still remember how much you enjoyed that lasagna I brought at Jenna's that night."

"That's probably the only thing worth remembering that night." She said cringing, pushing his chest lightly.

"Why, was it that bad?" He asked playfully.

"Well gee let's see." She said sarcastically, crossing her arms. "You almost caught me naked in the bathroom, that Andie bitch had her claws over you all night, you were a jerk to me, and Logan Fell was there too."

She gave him a pointed look and he laughed at her pissy mood.

Damon didn't genuinely laugh very often, but when he did, he could light up a whole room. His laugh was one of the most melodic and beautiful sounds Elena had ever heard.

"Well gee let's see." He said mocking her previous tone. "I see absolutely nothing wrong with the first one." He said seductively as he pinched her on the butt and then headed to the kitchen.

Elena gasped audibly and chased him down the kitchen.

"Damon Salvatore, you cannot say such things! We weren't even close then!" She said slapping the back of his head playfully.

"It doesn't mean that I didn't fantasize about you already." He said waggling his eyebrows.

Elena blushed a deep tomato red and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She then changed subject, clearing her throat a little.

"Fill these." He said handing her two glasses and a bottle of red wine.

"Okay. Anything else?" She said.

"Yes…come here for a sec." He just said.

"So?" She asked once she reached him.

Next thing she knew were his lips on hers, attacking her mouth in a vigurous passion. It sent tingles right down her spine and lower parts, and she moaned loudly as she gripped his long raven hair for support. His hardness was pressing intimately against her and she threw her head back as he started kissing her neck.

"Weren't you supposed to cook?" She half moaned.

"This is your fault." He whispered huskily, placing her on the counter. "For reminding me of you in nothing but panties and a bra."

His hands roamed under her silky shirt and she shuddered heavily as his cool fingers kept pacing patters up and down her flesh, slowly reaching her bra.

"God Elena I want to touch you." Damon groaned, his eyes shimmering with desire.

She was too absorbed in the moment to say no anyway, all she could do was nod numbly.

One of his hands gently squeezed her breast, slowly moving under it so he could pinch and caress one of her hardened perky nipples. Her eyes rolled back in the back of her head as she threw her head back and let him work his magic on her breast. Her panties were becoming soaked wet by the second as she felt an unbereable throbbing pulse down her pussy. She felt the urge to press her thighs together so the ache would fade but Damon's hard body between them wouldn't let her.

"Damon…" She cried out when he squeezed her breast hard.

"We should probably cool down." He said huskily, his cheeks flushed.

That was Damon talking, since his dick was telling him the opposite.

"You're right." She breathed out.

Damn man, leaving her all hot and bothered. She gave him another quick kiss before hopping down the counter, pulling down her shirt and feeling her panties uncomfortably wet.

She snorted in amusement when she saw Damon trying to adjust his showing hardness.

"Trust me this is not funny. At all." he said.

"Oh you poor thing." She teased.

"You're the one to talk?" He smirked devilishly. "I can feel how wet you are for me even through your jeans."

Damon's words just turned her on even more, if possible.

"Shut up and start cooking for your woman. I'm going to set the table." She said firmly, narrowing her eyes.

She filled the glasses of wine and put them up on the table after she finished to set it up. He still had to tell what he wanted to ask her and she couldn't wait. Five minutes later Damon brought two heavenly smelling chicken parmesan dishes.

"Mmh." Elena said sniffing the air. "This is gonna be so yummy."

"You betcha." He said cockily.

They started eating quietly, glancing at each other from time to time. She was so lost in Damon's incredible chicken parmesan that she completely forgot to ask him about the thing.

"Next time you'll have to make me some pizza. This was awesome." She said smiling as she took a sip of wine.

She noticed Damon looking intently at her, studing her expressions with a lovestruck look.

"I'll make it for you in Chicago, if you come with me." He blurted out all of a sudden.

The fork that she was holding fell on the table as her mouth fell open.

"You…you want me to come to Chicago with you?" She asked in disbelief.

"I do." He said with a nod. "But I was hesitant about asking you because I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. We haven't been together for a very long time, maybe you don't even want me around that much. I don't know. And the fact that you're still, you know…"

"A virgin?" She finished for him, crossing her arms over the table as a little smile crept over her face.

"Exactly." He said a little uncomfortably. "What I don't want is for you to feel pressured. It's difficult for me to keep my hands to myself when you're around, but you know that I would never push you into doing anything that you're not ready for. I don't want to upset you if maybe sometimes I can't control myself or I become too pushy. I respect you too much for it, Elena. And I'm sorry if sometimes I come off like that." He confessed.

Elena was on the verge of tears. He was always so caring and attentive, and he didn't even give himself credit for it.

"Damon." She said as she took his hand across the table and caressed its palm lightly. "I would be flattered to come to Chicago with you." She said sincerely.

"Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Can we go sit on the couch?" She said as she smiled lovingly at him.

He stood up and took a sit on the couch, waiting for Elena to join him. Instead of sitting next to him, she giggled a little and positioned herself on his lap, encircling his waist with her legs.

"You want to torture me, that's what you want to do." He said, playfully narrowing his eyes and then growling a little as she rubbed herself against him.

"Maybe." She shrugged casually. "But I really want you to understand Damon that there's no such thing that would have pleased me more than you asking me to go with you to Chicago. I mean, what would I do for two weeks without you anyway? If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty addicted here." She said chuckling.

"But…" He started saying.

She brought her thumb to his lower lip, caressing it softly while her other hand slipped under his shirt, over his perfect chest.

"I can't keep my hands for myself around you either, Damon." She whispered huskily in his ear as she pinched and wrenched his nipple.

"I can see that." He moaned as she started kissing down his neck and occasionally nipped and licked at his sensitive spots.

"I'm getting there. I feel comfortable enough to spend my nights with you and do things with you. I feel comfortable enough to sleep in your arms and tell you all about me. There are no doubts there, Damon. I trust you with my life." She then said firmly, holding his head and looking at him straight in the eyes. "I actually feel like this little trip could be awesome for us. We get to stay together, know each other more, do other things…" She teased.

"Then it's decided." He said smiling genuinely, softly holding her face as well. "You're coming with me."

She gave him a huge grin and attacked his lips again, her body feeling the need to be closer to his as possible. She knew that spending two entire weeks with Damon would most likely end up with their first time happening in Chicago. And truth be told, she didn't mind.

She always wanted her first time to be special, at the perfect moment, and with the perfect person. But just now she realized that it was the latter that really mattered. Damon was it for her, and she couldn't imagine her first time being with anyone else more perfect than him. Most guys would have laughed at her knowing that she was still a virgin, Damon instead was attentive of her feelings and her needs in every moment. How couldn't she give herself to this perfect creature in her arms? She felt like the luckiest person alive.

It was her he kissed everyday. It was her he chose to be with. It was her he wanted. It was her he held for comfort and it was her he loved.

"So when are we leaving? You have to at least give me a few days to manage things and get ready." She said.

"I should be there in five days, but I can postpone a few days if you want to." He said as he held her closer to his body.

"Five days is perfect." She nodded.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes until Elena heard her phone ringing in her purse.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and quickly stood up, leaving a whining Damon behind her.

"I'm just going to pour us some more wine then." He said sighing.

She smiled at him and then went to take her purse. She opened it and took her phone. Incoming call, Stefan.

"Elena?" He immediatly said, his tone sounding concerned.

"Stefan, are you okay?" She asked warily, considering what happened yesterday.

"I am. But why is the Grill closed? It's 4 in the afternoon on a Tuesday. I don't understand." He said utterly confused.

"No one showed up this morning, and not even for lunch. Vicky decided to give me the day off and I guess no one showed up later either then…" She said thoughtfully.

This was more than strange. The Grill had always been the most popular bar and place in town. At every hour of everyday it was busy as hell.

Maybe it was her paranoic and negative side talking, but could Mason have something to do with this? They were all major d-bags in that family. Yesterday proving it even further. She wouldn't be surprised if Mason or the Lockood family had something to do with it.

She decided not to say anything yet though and see what happened in the next few days. She really hoped she was wrong.

"Are you with Damon right now?" Stefan then asked.

"Yes, why?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"I need to come over and give him something back. Do you mind?"

"No, don't worry. By the way how did it go with your mother today?" She asked with a chuckle.

"She was suspicious at first but she bought it. Thanks to you." He replied.

"To my make-up, you mean." She laughed. "It works magic, I know."

"Well whatever El, see you in a few." He groaned.

She walked over to Damon and took the glass of wine that he was holding.

"Stefan is coming here. He wants to give you something back I think." She said as she sipped the wine.

"Yeah I got that part." He growled. "Cockblocker…"

"There was no cock to block anyway." Elena teased with a wicked smile.

Damon's eyes widened in surprise and he gapsed a little as he heard Elena's innuendo. Maybe there was no cock to block, but his cock definitely reacted at her words.

"You are one nasty thing, sweetheart." He said smirking devilishly.

She smirked back at him and then went to put her coat on. His face when she did so was priceless.

"Wait, where are you going?" He almost pouted.

"I'm taking advantage of the fact that Stefan is coming over to go have a chat with Caroline." She said as she walked towards him again and quickly kissed him on the lips.

"But you don't know if she's home." He insisted.

"She has the flu, she's home Damon." She chuckled slightly amused at the fact that he just didn't want to let her go.

"I'll call you later then, okay?" He asked.

"Needy much, Salvatore?" Elena teased.

"Very much so." He said pouting like a love sick puppy.

"Oh!" Elena awed and laughed whole-heartedly. "How am I going to be able to leave this poor pouty thing now?"

"Just kiss the pout away." He suggested.

"Great idea." She said kissing him once more.

Her tongue melted with his and they finally pulled back only when they both needed air.

"Do you want me to drive you to Caroline's? Your car is still at the Grill." He then said.

"She lives a few blocks away from here, I'm just going to take a walk." She assured him.

"I'll see you later then." He said as he watched her heading to the door.

She gave him a big smile which remained plastered on her face until she got out and pulled her phone out to call Caroline.

"Hello?" She answered after a few rings, her voice nosy.

"Car? It's Elena." She said. "How are you feeling?"

"Sick and bored to death." She said.

"Well I think I have the remedy for your boredom. Do you mind if I come over in a while?" She said, knowing that the juicy things that she had to tell and especially ask Caroline would probably cure even her sickness.

"Of course, do come. I'm really in need of a girly chat…Bonnie is coming in an hour or so too. She's bringing ice-cream." She said excitedly.

"Okay then. See you in a few." Elena said.

What she would bring would appeal Caroline much more than ice-cream, that was for sure.

Ten minutes later she reached destination and rang the doorbell. Caroline opened in her fluffy pink pajama with matched slippers.

"Hey there 'Lena. I missed you." She said in her usual bubbly voice. "I'm not hugging you though, I'm too contagious."

"Have you been alone all day?" Elena asked as she walked in and took in the messy place.

"Yep. I've been eating like a pig and sleeping like one too. I regret nothing." She said shifting a chuckle.

"Oh that's my first flu remedy as well." Elena chuckled.

"What about you? Did you see Mr. Sexy today?" Caroline said waggling her eyebrows.

She threw herself on the couch and started eating some marshmallows.

"Yes, I've been with him until a few minutes ago actually." Elena said.

"The things I would do to him, man." Caroline moaned as she ate the marshmallow.

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed.

"What? It's true! You're too innocent to understand such things." She said shaking her head.

"Well maybe not for so long anymore…" Elena teased, crossing her arms and giving her a pointed look.

Caroline gasped audibly as her blue orbs glimmered in curiosity.

"That's why you came, didn't you? To ask my advice?" She asked excitedly.

"Mostly." Elena admitted smiling knowingly. "Since you're an expert in the matter and all, you know…"

"Elena Gilbert are you calling me a slut?" Caroline said narrowing her eyes.

"That's not what I said." Elena said.

"Oh I know I was joking Elena. Chill. You can call me whatever you like as long as you tell me everything." Caroline said.

Just then the doorbell rang and as Elena went to open there stood Bonnie with some Ben & Jerry's ice-cream and some other junkie food.

"This is going to be so much fun." Caroline exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement.

* * *

><p><strong>Spoilerish hints about the next few chapters (there's gonna be a time jump eventually);<strong>

**- One couple is going to move in**

**- One couple is going to break up**

**- Half of a couple is going to cheat on the other with a character that we may or may not know**

**- There's going to be a pregnancy**

**Don't leave DE out of any of the options, heh! :P  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Meh, I finally managed this update. XD Thank you all for sticking around with this story. Your alerts, favorites, and especially reviews make my day!**

**So please leave me some love and let me know what you think. :) I love hearing your thoughts. Xo  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Once they were all sat on the couches comfortably, Elena started rubbing the palms of her hands over her knees anxiously.<p>

Caroline and Bonnie were her best friends. They knew everything about each other since kindergarten. Every disappointment, every unrequited love, every crush, every secret, every little detail…they shared everything.

So why now that one of the most imporant girl-y talks was about to happen, Elena felt so nervous? The truth was that she rarely talked about this level of intimacy. It made her feel uncomfortable and out of place.

Oddly enough Damon was the only one she felt so at ease with regarding the subject. With him it all seemed to come down naturally.

In five days they would be alone and together in another city for two weeks. It was impossible to think that either of them could keep their hands for themselves, considering how they were always all over each other. It had to happen sooner or later, Elena was aware of it, and she was also aware of the fact that she couldn't picture anyone else but her Damon to finally make her take that step. She was 22 years old for god's sakes, it was about time, no?

"Elena?" Caroline called, making her snap out of her thoughts.

The blonde was giving her a knowing look full of curiosity. Hell, Caroline seemed more excited about the argument than she was.

Bonnie was sitting on the armchair in front of her, looking pretty curious as well as wary. Although Elena knew that they were both dying to know about the dirty little secrets that she was about to spill.

"Come on now, don't make us beg you. You know that you can talk to us about everything." Bonnie reassured.

Elena sighed deeply, kicking her shoes off and interwining her legs on the couch.

"I want to sleep with Damon." She finally admitted.

"Like…sleeping as in rolling between the sheets and having some hot monkey sex?" Caroline asked, her eyes sparkling and wide open.

Elena nodded shyly and Caroline started squealing and clapping her hands loudly while Bonnie rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Of course you want to! I'm actually surprised that you haven't jumped his bones already. Just go for it, it's as natual as drinking a glass of water. I promise." Caroline exclaimed.

She took a look at Bonnie's doubtful face and that immediatly reminded her of how judgy she tended to be.

"Have you really thought about this Elena? It's a big step, and you have to admit that Damon is kind of a player." She grimaced slightly.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Bonnie! It's clear that she's in love with him and wants to be with him in that way too. Don't be such a buzzkiller. Let her have her own experiences." Caroline stated, crossing her arms.

Suddenly the blonde's head snapped around to look at Elena, giving her the look.

"Because you do are in love with him, right?" She asked for confirm.

Elena nodded, grinning happily.

"Yes. I love him."

Bonnie's features softened at her words, allowing a smile to creep across her face.

"I've always trusted your opinions. So if you really do love him and believe that he's the one, then what's stopping you? I mean he is hot." Bonnie chuckled.

They all chuckled a little and Elena felt the tension that she had been feeling for the whole time starting to fade.

She actually couldn't wait to hear all the things that they would advice her and tell her. For her – their – first time Elena wanted to appear and be extraordinary. She wanted to be the best he'd ever had, even though it did sound like a challenge considering Damon's experiences.

"So, did you two have oral sex?" She heard Caroline asking bluntly.

She blushed hard and shook her head. "Nope."

"Well I think that you should. It would help you to get intimate…but not actually going there, you know. It's a start."

"You're making it sound like it's obligatory or something, Care. A lot of people practice oral after having actual sex. Some don't at all." Bonnie shrugged.

Elena looked between the two as they went back and forth and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Calm down. I'll see about that, okay? Maybe I should just talk to Damon…"

"No!" Caroline exclaimed baffled. "You do not talk to your boyfriend directly about such things. 'Oh honey, do you want a blowjob by any chance? Now should I swallow or should I spit?' Hell no. If you want to do it, you just do. Talking to him about it is almost a turn off. He's your lover, Elena. Not your friend."

Maybe Caroline was right, but if she wasn't allowed to talk to Damon about their intimate relationship, then to who the hell should she? She couldn't always go to her friends asking for advices or opinions.

"I kinda agree with Caroline on that. These are things that you learn from experience, not from having a confidential talk with your boyfriend about it. You could make him feel uncomfortable if in the end you decide to not go there but he obviously wants it. I mean sure you can talk about sexual positions and stuff, but that's different." Bonnie said.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments until Elena spoke up.

"We're taking off to Chicago in five days, we're going to stay there two weeks and to be honest I kind of want it to happen there. So do you guys think I have time to do some shopping with my girlfriends?" She smirked.

Their faces immediatly lit up and Elena giggled a little.

"We're so not done with the sex talk, Elena Gilbert." Caroline said with a pointed look. "But oh my gosh absolutely. Why did you even have to ask? I'll just need to kill this stupid flue in a couple of days and I'm all yours. We're going to Victoria's Secrets, then a sexy shop that I know…"

"Sexy shop?" Elena snorted.

"Caroline is obsessed with it apparently." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm in too, of course."

"Yes, there are some great outfits to buy in there, trust me. Not to mention all sort of pleasurable toys." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"You're impossible." Elena said chuckling.

"You'll thank me for that, honey. I actually think that we should buy you a vibrator. The medium size perhaps? I bet that Damon is big, so you'll probably need to adjust first."

"Caroline! I'm not buying a vibrator. Especially not when I'm about to have sex…what's the point?"

"Let me ask you something Elena." She said crossing her arms. "Do you masturbate?"

She hesitated for a long moment but replied eventually as Caroline's glare was almost burning her.

"From time to time. So? I don't get the point of this." She shrugged uncomfortably.

"So what's the problem with using a vibrator? It's even better." Caroline pressed. "Look, it will only help you relax about the whole thing. It will make you feel more confident."

"I'll get some ice-cream. This is getting interesting." Bonnie said as she stood up.

"You think?" Elena asked coyly.

"Absolutely." Caroline nodded. "In my opinion, the best moment to do it is after a shower or a bath. Laying on your bed naked...starting playing with yourself…then you'll get so wet that you'll just crave the need of something inside of you. Besides you get to think about Damon while doing it, missy."

"Holy shit." Elena breathed, feeling turned on just by what Caroline said.

Maybe she was right and she should start exploring more of herself and feel more confident about her body before actually going there with Damon.

She pleasured herself sometimes, but she never quite pictured the act as erotic as Caroline made it sound.

"Oh, and I want you to do a waxing down there before you leave."

"Down…there?" Elena raised her eyebrows.

"Yup. And I don't mean only your groin, if you know what I mean." The blonde said smirking devilishly.

"I kinda got that when you said down there." Elena chuckled humorless.

"You look worried." Caroline said smiling. "I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty painful, but trust me it's oh-so worth it. It's a turn on for basically every man."  
>Elena tried to force a smile but shuddered lightly at the thought of having a waxing that would make her look like as bald as a newborn.<p>

Just then Bonnie came back with their bowls of ice-cream and the girls started chatting about Chicago and how great it was that Damon was getting so comfortable to allow her to be part of his old life too.

Indeed she felt honored and happy that he was opening up to her so completely. She knew it was hard for him.

"I can't believe that's really Damon Salvatore. I mean he just…looked so different in high school. I would have never recognized him if Elena hadn't told me it was him." Bonnie admitted.

"I know right. Just the other day I was looking through the high school photo albums and it's like this is his good looking twin now." Caroline laughed.

"We were different too." Elena suddenly said harshly. "We were freaking bitches and I'm not proud of it. So let's just cut the crap please."

Both Caroline and Bonnie immediatly stopped laughing after hearing the sound of her voice and how serious she looked.

She didn't know why, but she had felt the sudden need to defend Damon proudly. She didn't like their tones and how lightly they were taking the fact that they were awful persons back then. Because they were.

"Okay. Sorry." Bonnie said quietly.

Elena's features remained hard as she stood up to take her stuff.

"Wait, where are you going? If we said something wrong then I'm sorry El." Caroline said apologetically.

They really looked honest about it and she softened up a little before speaking up. Perhaps she had just overreacted, but she couldn't help it, something inside of her had just called it.

"Don't worry about it." She said smiling a little. "Just give me a call if you feel better so we can go shopping and do…the other things." She chuckled lightly.

"I can't wait." Caroline grinned and they all said their goodbyes.

* * *

><p>As she headed outside Elena called Damon. It was getting dark and maybe they could meet up at The Grill to eat something.<p>

"Hello, Elena." He picked up at the first ring with his seductive tone.

She rolled her eyes a little and chuckled.

"Hello yourself."

"How did the girly afternoon go?" He asked.

"Fine." She quickly replied, blushing a little as she thought about what they had talked about. "You and Stefan? Is everything okay?"

"Yep. And apparently he lied to you, he didn't have to give me anything back…that chicken just wanted to talk to me about that Rebekah girl." He chuckled.

"Seriously?" She gasped. "I have no idea why he would lie to me about it, but Damon come on it's not cool that you aren't keeping this for yourself. He clearly feels uncomfortable with me knowing. It was supposed to be your brotherly secret or something." She scolded.

"I don't have secrets with you." He said, the seriousness in his voice making her gulp a little. "Now turn around."

She arched her eyebrows in confusion but did as he said. A few meters away from her there he was with his blue Camaro, waving at her with his devilish smirk.

She grinned at him and shook her head, ending the call as she approached him.

"Need a ride, beautiful?" He said cockily.

"Sorry, but I don't think that my boyfriend would approve. And he's extremely badass so I wouldn't try it again." She teased as she kept walking with a smirk on her face.

A few moments later the suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her from behind, lifting her from the ground.

She squealed loudly but as she felt the familiar masculine scent she immediatly relaxed in his arms.

"I guess that your badass boyfriend will just have to suck it up." He whispered huskily against her neck.

She turned around in his arms, giggling lightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into that ocean of blue.

"Oh yeah?" She cocked her head to the side a little.

"Yeah." He said kissing her desperately.

She gripped the back of his black hair and let him dominate the kiss. He seemed hungry for her just as much as she was for him.

He finally pulled back and looked into her chocolate eyes, a sweet smile across his face.

"Let's go." He said, leading her to the passenger's seat.

"Where to?" She asked once inside the car.

"Boarding House." He replied. "The Grill is still closed. Go figure."

"Strange." Elena said thoughtfully.

"Remind me to bring you to lots of restaurants and bars in Chicago. We'll make it up for the lack in here." He said.

"I can't wait." She said sincerely, taking his other hand in hers as they drove off.

* * *

><p>Five days passed quickly between spending quality time with Damon and doing all the 'commissions' that Caroline and Bonnie gave her.<p>

On Thursday they all went to the mall and first thing she knew, they had dragged her inside Victoria's Secret and made her buy at least ten different bunch of outfits. They had told her that she looked incredibly sexy in those and Bonnie specifically demaned her to wear the red lace corset during their first night. Elena had at first opted for something more natural and comfy, but she'd be damned if she didn't use all this exhausting shopping to seduce her man!

The worst part though was when Caroline brought her to their usual SPA just yesterday. You would guess that it was all about relax, but little did she know that Caroline had indeed booked a full body waxing for her.

She had almost cried like a baby when they went down there and still now it felt and looked incredibly weird...thankfully right after that she had her relaxing sauna and chocolate body scrub, making her skin as soft as silk.

She wanted to look, smell, and taste flawless for Damon when the time finally came. It was becoming an obsession.

Not to mention that Caroline's self-pleasuring suggestion had indeed worked awesomely…she definitely should listen to her more often about these things.

"Elena, wake up sleepy head." Damon shaked her softly.

She lazily opened her eyes and suddenly remembered that they were still in the cab that drove them from the airport.

It was rainy and cold outside and she had found herself feeling incredibly sleepy. Her head was resting on Damon's shoulder and she looked up at him, smiling sweetly.

She looked outside the window as Damon paid the driver and she gasped a little at the sight. He had told her that for the first week they would stay at his apartment. The building and the surroundings were beautiful and she immediatly understood that they were probably in a pretty cool neighbor of the city.

They got out of the cab and as Damon took both of their suitcases, she started feeling giddy and nervous. Her heart was beating faster than it should have and she wondered why it had hit her all of a sudden.

It was like she had just now realized that she was indeed in Chicago. With Damon. They made it. She got to share a part of his world.

As she predicted, the inside of the building was magnificent. It was large and renomated, the walls made of white marble and a red carpet all over the lobby. She had never been in such a fancy place and to be honest she was loving every minute of it.

"Mr. Salvatore." A middle-aged man immediatly cheered.

"Good evening, Rob." Damon replied politely.

"You can leave me your luggage here, sir. I will make sure to bring it upstairs for you."

"Thank you." Damon nodded. "I would like to introduce you to someone. This is my girlfriend, Elena." He then said, turning around to smile at her.

She was standing a little behind him and he couldn't help but grin at how cute and shy she looked.

"Girlfriend?" Rob repeated a little baffled. Of course…

He saw Damon giving him a look and he immediatly recomposed himself.

"You've made quite a catch, Mr. Salvatore." He said as he took her hand. "Enchanted to meet you, Miss."

"Likewise. And you can call me Elena." She said smiling.

"You two can go rest now. I will bring your luggage to Mr. Salvatore's apartment in a few minutes."

Damon wrapped his arm around the small of her back, leading her to the elevator. They headed inside and she saw him pressing the button for the tenth floor, which was also the last floor of the building.

"You didn't tell me that your apartment was on the last floor. Is it a penthouse?" She said surprised.

"Why? Does it matter?" He asked stepping closer, encircling her waist with his arms.

"Not that much, Mr. Salvatore, but you have quite the fancy lifestyle I can see." She teased.

"Had, baby. Had. Now I've become monogamous because of you." He chuckled into her hair.

She chuckled too and ruffled his hair a little, running a hand through its softness and staring into his sapphire blue eyes.

"I'm glad to be here with you Damon. I really am." She said seriously.

"I am too." He whispered, brushing his lips over hers in a soft caress.

The elevator's doors opened and Elena felt that giddy and nervous feeling all over again. She was about to see the place where Damon had spent the last six years of his life.

He was letting her in – in every way.

"Are you ready?" He smirked as he unlocked the front door.

As soon as it opened, she couldn't hold back the gasp and the wide eyes at the sight. This wasn't an apartment, this was a freaking luxury loft.

She kept looking around not quite believing that this was really someone's place and not a suite of some luxury 5 star hotel.

It was modern and huge, furnished and decorated in detail. It was stunning.

"Damon this is…wow." Elena said speechless. "This is the most beautiful house I've ever seen. Movies included." She chuckled.

"I thought that you might like it." He winked.

He headed to the living room/parlor and quickly started a fire, turning it on with some kind of remote.

"I want a tour of the house." She grinned excitedly.

"Can't it wait? Right now I just want to lay on my comfy couch with you." He groaned.

"Be that way, lazy ass." She crossed her arms. "I'm just going to do it by myself then."

He huffed quietly and stood up, reaching her in the middle of the room.

"I may be a lazy ass but you sure are a _pain_ in the ass when you want to." He said narrowing his eyes.

"Oh please. You can't bring me in here and expect me to just sit around and wait for you to show me the amazingness that this house is." She hushed him quickly.

She had pretty much seen all of the parlor - which was covered in dark wooden floor, white walls, and lots of cool forniture. The sixty inch TV was what caught her eyes the most.

The other part of the parlor leaded to the kitchen and dining area which were well fitted and thought as well.

Elena was mesmerized. Sure the Boarding House was a wonderful maison too, but it was old style and Damon didn't even live there anymore. It was a given to say that his apartment in Mystic Falls couldn't even begin to compare with this one. How could he let something like this go?

"Want a cup of coffee or something?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Why not." She smiled, sitting on the stool next to the counter. "So how did you manage this? I mean this is…wow." She said out loud.

He chuckled a little, pouring them some coffee as he leaned on the counter in front of her.

"My friend Sage is an architet, she helped me with everything when I first moved in. Believe it or not, this apartment was nothing compared to what it is now." He shrugged.

Elena stayed quiet for a few moments, contemplating about what he just said. Did he really think this through? Leaving the city, his job, his home…she didn't want him to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life. She wanted nothing more than Damon by her side but she needed to be sure that he wanted this too.

"So let's show me the upstairs?" She asked excitedly after a few minutes, jumping off the stool.

"You want to get to the great stuff already, I get it." He smirked.

She gave him a coy look, waiting for him to show her. He walked over her and gently took her hand in his, caressing its palm soothingly.

They marched on the modern stairs which leaded to his master bedroom and the bathroom.

Needless to say that his room was quite the sight as well. Armed of a California king bed, a huge desk with his laptop and papers, and a soft dark-rouge almost brown moquette it made it look like a luxury room even in here. Maybe she was just overreacting over the beauty that this house was but she couldn't help but be surprised and mesmerized at how much Damon had accomplished. Just then she noticed the same fireplace that was downstairs too and her mind started leading to erotic dreams where she and Damon would spend hours making love on the floor by the fireplace.

She mindlessly sighed softly in awe, immediatly realizing how crystal clear she must have sounded. She blushed a light shade of pink and then shyly glanced at Damon, who just glanced back at her with a knowing smile on his face and a little wink.

"And this is the bathroom." He concluded, opening the black door that leaded to another big classy room.

Her eyes widened in disbelief when she spotted the jacuzzi at the bottom of the bathroom.

"My god, Damon!" She exclaimed. "You might as well have told me that this was more like a royal residence than 'your house in Chicago'."

He chuckled amused and approached her, ruffling her hair.

"What can I say?" He shrugged casually. "When I first came to Chicago I was eighteen and I happened to have a pretty great trust fund."

"Maria would smack you if she knew that you spent most of your money just to please your spoiled ego." Elena said smirking.

"Did you just call me spoiled?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Very much so."

"You are becoming one sneaky thing, young lady." He tsked her.

"And you like it?" She asked huskily.

"Very much so."

They smiled at each other until he picked her up bridal style and she locked her arms around his neck. When they were this close it was impossible for her not to lose herself in those sparkling ocean blue eyes.

She stared at him for a few seconds and then kissed him softly. He rubbed his noise against hers as he started kissing every inch of her face and she giggled lightly.

"Wanna take a relaxing bath?" He asked her sweetly.

There was no innuendo or subtle pressure behind his words and Elena couldn't help but smile at his sweetness. He had been so comprehensive and patient about the whole thing. She didn't know herself how they hadn't jumped each other's bones already to be honest.

"Wanna take it with me?" She offered hesitantly, her voice small.

His eyes widened a little for a few seconds and his mouth fell open, leaving him speechless. He hadn't seen this coming. He quickly recomposed and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Are you sure? I mean love me some naked Elena, but if you're not ready…" He started saying.

She giggled lightly and pushed his chest. "I may not be ready for that right now, but I'm definitely in the mood for some naked Damon too."

He grinned happily and pecked at her lips, putting her down right after.

He headed towards the jacuzzi and opened the water. As he moved to begin to take his shirt off, Elena reached him and caressed his chest lightly, her fingers lingering on his nipples a little bit longer.

"Allow me." She said as she began to undress him.

He looked at her in awe, savoring in the moment of _his_ Elena undressing him until he would be completely naked.

When his shirt was laying on the floor she licked her lips as she looked at his bare muscled torso. His jeans started to feel a little too tight for his growing member and he decided that he had to touch her too.

He went to unbotton her silky shirt in one rapid move, hungry to feel her nude skin against his own. Her black lacy bra flied next to their shirts moments later and his eyes grew dark and lustful at the sight of her perfect round breasts. Her perky rose nipples were already hardened and he was craving to take them in his mouth.

His eyes though immediatly snapped over to look at her in the eyes, which held so much vulnerability at the moment.

He gently pushed his chest against her own, their skins milking.

"You are beautiful." He whispered in her ear, his hands slipping up to her breasts and squeezing them softly.

Her soft whimper made his jeans uncomfortably tight by now. He took a deep breath to control himself as his right hand went to unbutton her jeans.

He reached the hem, slowly unzipping it and sliding her jeans down her long legs. She was now only left in her tiny panties and he groaned loudly when she rubbed herself against him a little.

"Your turn now." She said as she reached for his zip.

He felt her hands trembling slightly as she tried to manage it open. He started kissing her neck, trying to soothe her and distract her as his hands joined hers to unzip his jeans.

"First thing first." He said huskily. "I need to touch you." He then pleaded softly.

She held his gaze intently for long moments, contemplating what to do next. She then just went for it and took off her panties, throwing them on the floor near their discarded clothes.

"This is it." She shrugged a little, her eyes filled with emotion and vulnerability. "I'm yours, Damon."

There she was; her olive smooth skin completely revelead in front of him. Her long chestnut hair was wildly cascading down her shoulders around her round breasts. His eyes darted to her bald pussy and his hard member throbbed painfully in need.

His lips twitched to hold his sheaky breathing and lust that he felt at the sight of Elena naked and innocent right in front of his eyes.

Damn, he hadn't felt this way in…never. Troughout the years he'd had tons of experience with women but somehow Elena managed to make him feel and act as a completely clumsy.

Her big brown doe eyes were shimmering with something he couldn't quite explain and he smiled at her, the most genuine smile he had ever smiled in his life. He cupped her face in his hands, his lips covering every inch of her skin, kissing from her chin to her closed eye-lids.

He didn't care if it wasn't the right moment or she wasn't ready to hear it – he had to tell her now. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do it.

She lazily opened her eyes only to find him staring right back at her with overwhelming emotion.

"Elena, I…" He was just about to spill the magic word when the sudden loud rang echoed through the house and made them both jump.

"Shit." He muttered, pissed that whoever it was rudely ruined the moment.

"Who is it?" Elena asked clearly baffled. She seemed upset just as much as he seemed to be.

"This is probably Rob with our luggage." He said as he zipped his jeans and quickly threw his shirt on, not bothering to button it.

He kissed Elena on the forehead and stroked her cheek softly.

"You go get in the tub, I'll come in a sec." He said winking.

Damon quickly hopped downstairs trying to mask his annoyance. How he fucking wished that it was Rob though when he opened the door and found a little surprise behind it...

His jaw clentched and his eyes turned piercing and cold. A look reserved only to people he would gladly slice to pieces.

"Katherine." He acknoweledged out loud.

"Missed me, lover?" She purred in delight.


End file.
